USA > Indiana > Wayne County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 4
USA > Indiana > Franklin County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 4
USA > Indiana > Union County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 4
USA > Indiana > Fayette County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 4
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In 1876 Professor Dennis was united in marriage, in Parke county, Indiana, to Miss Martha Curl, a daughter of Jeremiah and Sarah (Gifford) Curl, both of Parke county. One son was born to them, William Cullen, who was graduated at Earlham College with the degree of Bachelor of Arts when seventeen years of age. The following year he was graduated at Har- vard College with the same degree. Although the youngest man in the class, his standing was very high. He then spent another year within the classic walls of that time-honored institution, won the degree of Master of Arts, and the honor of delivering the oration for the graduate school. He is, now, at the age of nineteen, a student in the law department of Harvard. The home life of Professor Dennis and his family was ideal. The most
perfect companionship existed, and so strong was the influence of the beau- tiful Christian character of Mrs. Dennis upon the life of this community that this work would be incomplete without the record of her life, which we here- with append. Professor Dennis is still actively carrying on his life work, continuing his labors among the young, whose thought he directs to nobler, higher things, with a realization of the truth that even intellectual attain- ments count for naught save as they aid in the development of an upright character.
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
MATTIE C. DENNIS.
When Mrs. Mattie Curl Dennis passed away one more name was added to the list of honored dead whose earthly records closed with the words, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant;" but as long as memory remains to those who knew her the influence of her noble life will remain as a source of encouragement and inspiration. "Our echoes roll from soul to soul," and the good we do lives after us through all ages, handed down from generation to generation. Who then can measure the results of a life work, and especially such a life work as that of Mrs. Dennis? To the uplifting of humanity her best energies were ever devoted. With unerring judgment she recognized the " spark of divinity " in each individual and endeavored to fan it into the flame of righteousness. Not to condemn but to aid, she made the practice of her life, and the world is better and brighter for her having lived. But though the voice is stilled in death, the spirit of her worth and work remains as the deep undercurrent of a mighty stream, noiseless but irresisti- ble. Her influence was as the delicate fragrance of a flower to those who had the pleasure of her friendship. Her sympathies were broad, and quietly yet strongly she called forth the best in one, ennobling all by her own Chris- tian character. Her life was beautiful in its purity, goodness and Christian virtues, and her memory will long remain as a blessed benediction to all who knew her.
Mattie Curl Dennis was a native of Parke county, Indiana. In the pub- lic schools she acquired her early education, and then began teaching in the district schools of her native county. Desirous of acquiring more advanced education, she subsequently attended Bloomingdale Academy, then entered the Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio, and in 1874 was graduated at the Indiana State Normal. Her labors as an educator were most acceptable and satisfactory. She taught for twelve years in the district schools, in the city schools of Indianapolis and in the academies at Bloomingdale and Ladoga.
She was married June 22, 1876, to David Worth Dennis, after which they made a trip to the east, visited the Centennial Exposition, in Philadel- phia, and then returned to establish their home in Richmond, where she remained from September, 1876, until June, 1879. During this time her only child, William Cullen Dennis, was born, December 22, 1878. On becom- ing identified with the new community almost her first thought was, how could she assist and be assisted by those with whom she would be thrown in contact, and during her early residence at Richmond she organized and con- ducted a normal Bible class, taught in the Sunday-school, and studied with a ceramic art club. From 1879 to 1881 she was employed as a teacher in Wilmington College, and within that time organized the Browning Literary
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Circle, of Wilmington, Ohio, which has ever since maintained its existence. In 1882 she accepted a position as teacher in the Bloomingdale Academy, where she remained until February, 1884, when failing health forced her to seek rest in the south. She passed the months of February, March and April in Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina, and on the Ist of May, 1884, returned to Indiana. From that time until her death she was a resident of Richmond, with the exception of fourteen months spent abroad, and no other woman has exerted so wide an influence upon the social, intellectual and moral life of the city.
Mrs. Dennis was identified with many of the leading clubs of Richmond, and was a member of the Indiana State Reading Circle Board from 1884 until 1889. In the former year she organized a reading circle, which later became known as the Aftermath. She continued her membership therewith until her death, and was its leader until failing health forced her to resign. In 1892 she became a member of the Contemporary Club, of Indianapolis, joined the Tourists' Club in 1896, became a member of the Variorum at its organization, and was one of the organizers of the North End Literary Society. In all of these she retained her membership until her death and of the last named was leader. She organized the History Class in 1890, was its leader until her death, and was ever untiring in her efforts to promote its advancement. In 1866 she became a member of the Missionary Baptist church, and her Christianity was ever of the practical kind which prompts ready assistance for the needy, the promotion of literary culture and the advancement of science and art.
Always quiet and unostentatious in manner, Mrs. Dennis nevertheless left a strong impress of her individuality and beautiful Christian character upon all whom she met. She endeared herself to thousands of pupils, one of whom wrote: "Mrs. Dennis gave me my first real insight into the Eng- lish language, and what a wonderful study it was! She was so spirit-like, so unlike the world and its ways, that it was an inexpressible pleasure to me to hear her talk of people and things; and after my college days I never passed through Richmond but that I made it a point to call at her delightful home." Mrs. Dennis loved her pupils and always won their love. She had a singular power in getting work from them; what she said they could not think was trivial, -her lessons must be learned. She could help students find their own powers in a way few others could do. She did this by working with them, by encouraging them to believe in themselves. She never uttered a dogmatic sentence; she treated her pupils as tenderly and considerately as she did her neighbors; and when she came to work in clubs with other ladies and gentle- men her school-room manners were all that she required. She trusted her pupils implicitly, and always believed that this would save them if anything
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would. In all matters of discipline she sought to control through the under- standing, and from within; never by rule or from without.
Mrs. Dennis had an unfeigned love of the beautiful in all forms, in art and in nature. In Dresden, Rome, Florence and Paris the art galleries were her homes, and the masterpieces her personal friends. In literature and his- tory she had a quick eye for the heroic, the beautiful, the true, the purpose- ful. In life she saw through the soul of things at a glance, and parted com- pany with insincerity as perhaps the one incurable mischief. She loved the trees; they were beautiful, genuine, restful, always the same. She loved the flowers and gathered them in many lands and climes. She loved the birds as St. Francis loved them. They were not afraid of her; she fed them by hundreds in her yard, and talked to them as though they could understand, and all summer long they answered her call with a cheer which they seemed to know.
The strength of her life for thirteen years was given to the betterment of women, and she was not long a resident of Richmond before she became an active factor in the organization and promotion of several clubs for the advancement of literary and artistic culture. The Tuesday Aftermath was organized in 1884, and was the inspiration of Mrs. Dennis, whose untiring zeal and unselfish devotion carried it safely through the perils of infancy, as her genius was the guiding star of its later years. During the different win- ters they studied American authors; spent two years in studying Shakespeare, -one year in England and one in Scotland; one year on Russian literature; one year on French literature, and one on German literature. Mrs. Dennis was also the organizer of the History Class of Richmond. Its first meetings were held in the lecture rooms of the Baptist church, but the increase in numbers in attendance was so great that within a few months it was neces- sary to hold the meetings in the auditorium of the church. There were no tickets nor fee for admission, no limit as to numbers, age or capacity. The subject first chosen for study was Chaldean history, but Mrs. Dennis did not restrict herself to that alone; she varied the lessons with little moral talks, reading of selections from the poets and by giving quotations to be copied by the class as reference in future work. The subject of art was very early introduced, and has always proved one of the most attractive features. In the second year the subject of Jewish history was taken up, in connection with Christian art, and an excellent stereopticon outfit was purchased for the purpose of illustrating these lectures. Greek history and art have also claimed the attention of the class, followed by a winter's study of Italian his- tory and the painters and architects of that country. Through all the years Mrs. Dennis was the inspiration of the society; she planned its work and made it one of the most effective organizations in Richmond for intellectual
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advancement. When abroad in Europe she was not forgetful of her club associations, and frequently wrote letters of the most entertaining character to the Tuesday Aftermath, the History Class and other societies with which she was connected. Her essays and addresses before these clubs were always of the most entertaining character. She possessed high literary ability, and her reading covered the wide realm of science, art, history and classical literature.
It has been said that the soul finds its best and truest expression in poetry, and thus it seemed to Mrs. Dennis. Those things which touched her most deeply often inspired her to set down her thoughts in poetry, and some of her poetic productions deserve to be classed with those of our best American writers. The following was written on the 16th of October, 1894:
The world, all wrapt in summer robes, Lay hushed in the arms of sleep, While a presence fair from the depth of air, Stole by on hurrying feet.
Then the winds sighed low 'neath the star's soft glow And the flowers bowed down their heads, While the purple mist, by the moonlight kissed, Clung close o'er their perfumed beds.
And the forest blushed with a tender grace When it woke in the morning sun,
But a tear-drop fell on the earth's fair face For the loss of a something gone.
And thus it is with our human hopes, When our life has richer grown;
The fair sweet day into autumn slopes, And the dreams of our youth are flown.
The golden wedding bells chime low In the light of the settling sun; And so, in the gleam of this after glow, Fair autumn, thy race is run.
On presenting a volume of Alice and Phœbe Carey's poems to her hus- band she wrote on the fly-leaf:
Sometimes the way seems hard and long, And life seems big with care, But faith in God and you still strong, Gives power to do and dare.
And if sometimes a shadow plays, Across our life's sweet June, It but awakens holier lays, And strikes a grander tune.
And so I give this little book, With woman's wealth of love; The poets' words their color took From faith in God above.
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Death came suddenly to Mrs. Dennis, and she was thus permitted to continue in the active work of life to the last. No woman in Richmond has ever exerted a broader or more beneficial influence upon the life of the city. The highest tributes of love and respect were paid her. Resolutions were passed by all the organizations and societies with which she was connected, and Richmond mourned the loss of one who was at once friend, teacher, counselor and companion. She has gone to
" Join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again, In minds made better by their presence."
ABRAM GAAR.
In the death of Abram Garr, Wayne county lost one of its most valued citizens. His entire life was spent within its borders, and for a number of years he was in control of what is probably the chief industrial interest of the county. In America "labor is king," and the sovereignty that the liberty- loving people of this nation acknowledge is that of business. The men of influence in this enlightened age are the enterprising, progressive representa- tives of commerce, and to such ones advancement and progress are due. Abram Gaar was one who had the mental poise and calm judgment to success- fully guide and control gigantic business affairs, and at the same time he had a keen appreciation of the ethics of commercial life, so that he not only com- manded the respect of his fellow men for his uprightness, but also excited their admiration by his splendid abilities.
Mr. Gaar was born in Wayne county, November 14, 1819, and during his infancy was taken by his parents to Richmond, where he spent his remain- ing days. His educational privileges were those afforded by the subscription schools of the period and he received his manual training in his father's cabinet shop. He served a regular apprenticeship, and in 1845, when his father embarked in the foundry business, Abram, being a natural mechanic, worked at pattern-making, building wooden machinery and other labors in connection with the foundry business. After a short time, however, misfort- une overtook the enterprise and he was thus thrown out of employment. He was then about eighteen years of age, and during the two succeeding years he was in the employ of Ellis Nordyke, a millwright. All this time he was gaining a good practical knowledge of mechanical work that well fitted him for his greater responsibilities in connection with the Gaar Machine Works. About 1840, however, a period of financial depression and conse- quent business inactivity came upon the country, and as there was not much demand for mechanical work, he turned his attention to literary pursuits.
Abram Gaar
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He attended school for some time, his last teacher being James M. Poe, under whose direction he pursued his studies in 1842. The following year he entered the employ of J. M. and J. H. Hutton in the old Spring foundry machine shops, and there devoted himself untiringly to his duties, thus mas- tering the business in principle and detail. He also saved the major part of his wages until, in 1849, having acquired considerable capital, he purchased the plant, with his father, his brother, John M., and his brother-in-law, Will- iam G. Scott, as partners. The business was reorganized and conducted under the name of A. Gaar & Company, and from that time until his death, forty-five years later, Abram Gaar was actively connected therewith and con- tributed in no small measure to its success. On the Ist of April, 1870, the business was incorporated under the name of Gaar, Scott & Company with a paid-up capital of four hundred thousand dollars, and he was elected presi- dent, a position which he continued to fill, with marked ability, until his demise. The business steadily grew in volume and importance until it had assumed extensive proportions and was accounted the leading industrial con- cern of the county. In its management Abram Gaar displayed splendid executive power and keen discrimination, and he was widely recognized as a most capable business man.
On the 26th of March, 1851, Mr Gaar was united in marriage to Miss Agnes Adams, born May 2, 1831, a daughter of Henry and Agnes (Chapman) Adams. She was born on a farm south of Richmond, but spent the greater part of her girlhood, until her ninth year, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and in Illinois. Her mother died in the latter state, after which the family returned to Wayne county. Mr. Adams was connected with the firm of Gaar, Scott & Company for a long period, and died in his seventy-fourth year. Mrs. Gaar was reared in Richmond from the age of nine, and from her thirteenth year until her marriage, at the age of nineteen, she acted as her father's housekeeper. To Mr. and Mrs. Gaar were born four children: Oliver P., Clem. A., Samuel W. and Nettie R. The daughter is the wife of S. S. Stratton, Jr., and all are residents of Richmond.
In 1867 Mr. Gaar became a member of the Methodist church, to which his widow belongs, and at all times was a liberal contributor to church and charitable interests. His support and co-operation were withheld from no enterprise calculated to prove of public benefit. He voted with the Demo- cracy in early life, but when the Missouri Compromise was repealed, his opposition to slavery led him to join the Republican party, with which he affiliated until his death. Education, temperance, political reform and mor- ality always found in him a friend, and in 1883 he donated five thousand dollars toward the erection of the First Methodist church in Richmond. In
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1868 he was elected one of the trustees of the Home for Friendless Women, and for nine years gave his services to that institution without pecuniary reward. He was a man of large heart and broad humanitarian principles, and his public career and private life were alike above reproach. In 1876 he erected a beautiful residence on his farm two miles from the city, and made it one of the most attractive homes in Wayne county. There, in the midst of family and friends, he spent many delightful hours, for he was a man of domestic tastes and was never happier than when ministering to the happiness of his wife and children. He died February 10, 1894, and the community mourned the loss of one of its most valued citizens.
CLEM A. GAAR.
Clem A. Gaar, the second son of Abram and Agnes Gaar, was born in Richmond, Indiana, on the 13th of April, 1859. His youth was spent in the usual manner of lads of the period, study in the school-room and the pleas- ures of the play-ground engrossing his attention. Entering upon his business career at the age of nineteen years, he began serving an apprenticeship in the pattern-making department of the works of Gaar, Scott & Company, his term covering a period of four years and eight months, during which time he became an expert workman. On the expiration of that period he began farming on the old homestead and carried on agricultural pursuits for eight months, but not finding that occupation to his taste, he embarked in the wholesale grocery business in connection with John Shroyer, under the firm name of Shroyer & Gaar. They conducted that enterprise until 1890, and in 1894 Mr. Gaar aided in organizing the National Church Furniture Com- pany, of which he has since served as vice-president. They have built up an extensive business and are now enjoying a large and lucrative patronage. In addition, Mr. Gaar is engaged in general farming, making a specialty of the raising of wheat, and a glance at his broad and well tilled fields indicates his careful supervision. He is also a stockholder in the corporation conduct- ing business under the name of Gaar, Scott & Company. He possesses the true western spirit of enterprise, and is quick to note a favorable business opportunity. Therein lies the secret of many a man's success, and the pros- perity which our subject enjoys is largely attributable to that quality.
On the 15th of November, 1882, Mr. Gaar was married to Miss Fannie McMeans, a daughter of the late Alfred L. and Anna L. McMeans, of Rich- mond. They now have two children, Lucille and Russell A. Mr. Gaar is a leading member of the First Methodist Episcopal church, is serving as trustee, and is a valued representative of the Royal Arcanum. He and his wife have spent their entire lives in Richmond, and in their large circle of friends are many who have known them from childhood to the present.
.
Pohu Mo Gaar
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
SAMUEL W. GAAR.
The well known cashier of the Second National Bank is Samuel W. Gaar, a son of Abram and Agnes (Adams) Gaar. He was born in Richmond, March 3, 1863, and having acquired a good literary education in the public schools pursued a course in the Richmond Business College, in which he was graduated in the class of 1884.
Thus prepared for the practical and responsible duties of life, Samuel W. Gaar entered upon his business career as bookkeeper in the Second National Bank, in which capacity he acceptably served for ten years. He was then. promoted to the place of assistant cashier, in 1895, and in 1897 was made- cashier, in which capacity he is now serving. He is also a stockholder and a member of the directorate, and has contributed to the success of the. institution, which has the reputation of being one of the most reliable bank- ing houses in this section of the state. He is also a stockholder in the exten- sive manufacturing business conducted by Gaar, Scott & Company.
On the 24th of December, 1885, was celebrated the marriage of Samuel W. Gaar and Miss Mary E. Matthews, a daughter of Edward R. and Rachel Matthews, of Richmond. They have one child, Mildred E. They enjoy the hospitality of the best homes of the city, and their friends in the community are many. Mr. Gaar is quite prominent and widely known in Masonic cir- - cles, holding membership with Webb Lodge, No. 24, A. F. & A. M .; King Solomon Chapter, R. A. M., and Richmond Commandery, K. T. He also. belongs to J. N. S. Council, Royal Arcanum. He exercises his right of fran- chise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party, but for himself has never sought nor desired the honors or emoluments of public office, preferring to devote his energies to his business interests. He is a worthy representative of one of the prominent families that has figured conspicuously in the history of the county from the time of its earliest pioneer development down to the present, with its wonderful commercial and industrial advance- ment.
JOHN M. GAAR.
It has often been stated and commented upon that the United States has- always presented great opportunities to men of industry, ability, honesty and integrity, and as long as men have the aspirations and the determination to improve their conditions of life and earn the success which it is possible to obtain, the theme will never be exhausted. One of the most prominent of Indiana's business men whose enterprise and sound judgment have not only promoted their individual prosperity but have advanced the public welfare, is John Milton Gaar. As the president of the extensive corporation doing business under the name of Gaar, Scott & Company, he is too well known to
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need introduction to the readers of this volume, and his fame in this connec- tion is not even confined by the bounds of his native land, but as a business man in other lines of endeavor, as a citizen and as a friend, we would pre- serve the record of his career among a people who have learned to admire, respect, honor and esteem him.
John M. Gaar, the son of Jonas Gaar, was born in Richmond on the 26th of May, 1823, and is indebted to the subscription schools of the city for the educational privileges which he enjoyed. His early life passed unevent- fully, and as his parents were not then wealthy his youth was by no means free from labor. In 1835, by the firm, whose members were Job W. Swain, Abel Thornbury and Jonas Gaar, he was employed to operate a stationary engine, and continued to serve in their employ until 1838, when his employers failed. He afterward worked at anything he could get to do that would yield him an honest living. In 1839 he secured a situation in a brickyard and followed that pursuit until he became an expert brickmaker. He was employed in that line until the 6th of November, 1841, when he began working in the blacksmith shop of the Spring foundry, owned by J. M. and J. H. Hutton. In January, 1845, when he was receiving one dollar per day, he and his brother, Abram, each asked for an advance to a dollar and a quarter per day, but the firm compromised by giving each of them a one-fifth interest in the business, their father also having a fifth interest. On the 20th of September, 1849, in connection with their father, Jonas Gaar, and William G. Scott, they purchased the interest of J. M. and J. H. Hutton, and organized the firm of A. Gaar & Company, the partners being Jonas Gaar and his two sons, Abram and John M., and William G. Scott. From the beginning their pat- ronage steadily increased. It was a healthy growth, for their products com- manded the commendation of the public, and good goods upon the market, sold at reasonable rates, always secure purchasers. From the beginning John M. Gaar of this review was one of the partners, and he so continued until 1870, when the business was incorporated under the name of Gaar, Scott & Company, at which time he was elected a director and treasurer. Upon the death of his brother Abram, in 1894, he succeeded to the presi- dency, and for five years has remained at the head of the most extensive business in this line in the entire country. Their plant has been constantly enlarged to meet the growing demands of the trade until it now covers ten acres of land, and is fitted out with the most modern buildings and improved machinery known to the trade. They are among the most extensive boiler and engine builders in the world, and the products of this great foundry in- clude threshing machines, clover-hullers, boilers, portable and traction engines and sawmills. The trade which the house enjoys is very extensive, their manufactures being shipped to every state in the Union, in addition to which
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