USA > Indiana > Shelby County > Chadwick's History of Shelby County, Indiana, Vol. 1 > Part 39
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Doctor McCrea affiliates with: the Republican party, and he takes an active interest in political affairs, especially local matters. Though not an office- seeker or aspirant for leadership, he has filled various positions in the munici- pality, including membership in the City Council, where he made an honorable record as a local legislator. As president of the School Board he spared no efforts in behalf of the educational needs of the public, his labors in that capacity being instrumental in raising the standard of the schools and making them among the best in the state.
Doctor McCrea was made a Mason in 1868, and for a number of years thereafter was an earnest worker in the order, which he served from time to time in various official capacities. He was worshipful master of the Shelby- ville lodge for several terms and also filled honorable positions in the higher branches of the brotherhood, including among others those of high priest and eminent commander, besides becoming acquainted among the leading Masons of his own and other states, whom he not infrequently met in the sessions of the Grand Lodge and other public functions of the order. His attention was early attracted to the matter of revealed religion, and for a number of years he has been a consistent member of the Presbyterian church. For a period of
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twenty years he served as clerk of the sessions and at the present time holds the position of president of the board of trustees of Whitewater church.
On November 21. 1878, Doctor McCrea was united in marriage with Phoebe Robertson, who has borne him three children, one of whom died in infancy : a daughter by the name of Frances R. departed this life March 30. 1907, when seventeen years of age. the only surviving child being Florence J .. a young lady of intelligence and culture, who is now pursuing her studies at the State University of Bloomington. The doctor's business career presents a series of continued successes and. as already indicated. he is now classed with the well-to-do men of his city and county. He owns a comfortable modern home in the best residence part of the city, and is well situated to enjoy the many material blessings which have rewarded his well directed labors.
SAMUEL HAMILTON.
One of the leading business men of his day and generation in Shelbyville and a public spirited citizen to whom as much as to any other of his contem- poraries the city is indebted for the material prosperity which has character- ized its history during the last third of a century, the late Samuel Hamilton occupied a conspicuous place in the public view and is entitled to honorable mention among those who added character and stability to the city.
Mr. Hamilton was a native of Ireland, and first saw the light of day at what was known as Leek farm. owned by his forefathers for generations. in the county of Derry, on May 26th. of the year 1812. His people were educated and were land owners in Ireland. He spent his early life near the place of his birth. and after obtaining a fair training in the schools of his native county was varionsly employed until his twentieth year. when he sought a new home and a new career in the great Republic beyond the sea whither so many of his countrymen had preceded him. Setting sail on March 18. 1834. he landed on the 5th day of May following in New York, and after a brief sojourn in that city, proceeded westward as far as Rushville, Indiana. where he arrived the last week of the month, and rejoined his older brother. who had come to America some time before to engage in the mercantile busi- ness at the pioneer village. Soon after his arrival he was put in charge of a stock of general merchandise at Arlington, Rush county, but in April of the following year moved the store from that point to Shelbyville, where he em- barked upon the business career which in due time resulted in the accumulation of a fortune considerably in excess of half a million dollars and a reputation in commercial circles second to that of few men in the State.
After a successful mercantile career of twenty years' duration he continued
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scle owner and manager until his death, and which, like his other business enterprise, resulted greatly to his financial advantage. making him one of the wealthiest men of the city and earning for him much more than local repute as an able and eminently successful financier. On March 24. 1892. Mr. Hamilton suffered a stroke of paralysis, from which he never recovered, but from which he rallied sufficiently to leave his bed and to a limited extent walk about, but he never again entered his bank or gave personal attention to his affairs, realizing that his business career was ended and that it was only a matter of a few weeks at best when he could be obliged to bid farewell to earthly scenes. This premonition which came to him with such conviction and force, proved only too true, for on the twenty-sixth day of the same month in which he was stricken his spirit took its flight. his death being felt as an irreparable loss not only by his immediate family and friends, but by the entire community throughout which he was universally esteemed and honored.
Mr. Hamilton was a man of strong domestic tastes and his home was to him the one ideal place of earth. He erected more business blocks and other buildings in Shelbyville than any of his contemporaries and exercised a great influence in locating factories and giving an impetus to the industrial interests of the place.
Mr. Hamilton was a Democrat in a conservative way, but took no interest in politics further than to vote his principles and when necessary defend the soundness of his opinion .. Being of Scotch-Irish birth, he naturally became a Presbyterian in his religious belief, uniting with the church at the age of sixteen and continuing a faithful member during the remainder of his life. For many years he was a pillar of the First Presbyterian church and also an elder of the same, in which office he was associated with Ekler John Hen- dricks, father of ex-Vice President Hendricks. Mr. Hamilton was a man of exemplary habits, abstemious almost to a fault in the matter of intoxicants and tobacco in all its forms. In manner he was plain and quiet. He was of . medium height, but well developed, weighing at his normal health about two hundred pounds, and possessing a solid, well-knit body, whose strength and vigor could easily withstand almost any kind of physical exertion or hardship. Although coming to a strange country with only one hundred dollars' capital with which to start, he forged to the front. accumulating one of the largest private fortunes in the city honored by his citizenship.
Mr. Hamilton was twice married, the first time to Elizabeth Lowry, who died March, 1882, and on July 31st of the year following Mrs. Emma Hamilton became his wife, no children being born to either union.
Mrs. Hamilton's maiden name was Emma Fay. She was born and reared in Cincinnati, Ohio, and there married her first husband. Joseph D. Hamilton, a wholesale boot and shoe merchant of Indianapolis, who departed this life September 26. 1879. leaving besides herself two children to
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mourn their loss, namely: Mary, wife of Dr. George S. Rowe, of Indianapolis, and Joseph B., who resides in Shelbyville. Mrs. Hamilton is a lady of culture and high social standing.
PETER METZGER.
The subject of this sketch has been a life-long resident of Shelbyville, and is a creditable representative of that large and eminently respectable class of German-American citizens to whom the United States is so much indebted for the material prosperity which has enabled the country to forge to the front among the enterprising and enlightened nations of the world. Silas Metzger, the subject's father, was a native of the Grand Duchy of Baden. Germany, where his birth cecurred May 26, 1826, being a son of Joseph Metzger, who was born in the same part of the Fatherland and spent his entire life near the ancestral home.
In the year 1847 Silas Metzger left the scenes of his youth and came to the United States, being the only member of the family to seek a new home and carve out a new destiny in the great country beyond the sea. Soon after landing he made his way westward as far as Shelbyville, Indiana, which place he reached, poor and friendless, but with a laudable ambition to better his con- dition by any kind of employment he could secure. After a few days' search he accepted the position of porter in the Cross House. the leading hotel in the town at that time, and despite his many arduous duties and long hours of ser- vice he soon proved his efficiency and won the confidence of his employers. During the seven years he labored as a porter he saved his earnings with seru- pulons care and on severing his connection with the hotel at the expiration of the time indicated he had quite a snug sum of money to his credit. He was , next in the employ of Doctor Selman, in whose service he continued until his marriage on the 26th of January, 1859, to Anna Mary DePrez, of Rush conn- ty, though born of German parentage. The same year as his marriage he opened a boarding house, which with the assistance of his wife soon gained a liberal patronage.
In those early days it was customary for all boarding houses to keep their guests supplied with liquid refreshments, and it was not long until Mr. Metz- ger drifted into the general order of things and became a dispenser of beer and other intoxicating drinks, for which there seemed to be a universal demand. From the beginning his business appeared to prosper, and within a short time he discontinued the culinary department of his establishment, the better to de- vote his entire time to the liquor trade which was demanding all of his atten- tion. Without entering into a detailed account of the remarkable progress of his business interests suffice it to state that Mr. Metzger always kept a quiet.
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MR. AND MRS. SILAS METZGER.
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respectable place and his patronage increased to such an extent that he was soon at the head of the largest establishment of the kind in the town and his success was such that in a few years he was one of the financially strong and reliable men of the county. He continued the business until July 1. 1903. His death occurred on October 2. 1904. and he left one of the largest and most valuable estates in Shelby county, every dollar of which was earned by methods which he considered honorable and in conformity with the ethics of business life. Mrs. Metzger survived her husband until September 2, 1907, when she, too, was called to the unseen world, leaving a family of six children, two sons and four daughters, Peter, whose name introduces this sketch, being the oldest of the number. Anna died at the age of twelve years. The surviving members of the family. all of whom reside in Shelbyville, are as follows : Laura, wife of John E. Morner; Edward, Lena, who married Jacob H. Dietzer, and Zora, now Mrs. Fred HI. Harding.
Peter Metzger was born in Louisville, Kentucky. October 7. 1859. and spent his early life pretty much after the manner of town or city lads, assisting his parents when his services were required and the rest of the time pursuing his studies in the public schools. At the age of eighteen he stopped school to engage permanently with his father, whom he had assisted in the meantime, and with whose business life he had been familiar from early youth. With each recurring year his father depended more and more upon the son's ability and tact. and in due time the latter succeeded to the management of the busi- ness and was instrumental in building up a large and lucrative patronage.
Mr. Metzger early developed judgment and sagacity of a high order, and during the twenty years in which he managed the business achieved honorable repute as an enterprising, broad-minded business man, whose reputation was ever above reproach and whose word had all the sacredness of a written obliga- -tion. The responsibilities devolving upon him while looking after his father's interests were numerous and heavy and such were the demands upon his time that he was enabled to take less than two weeks' vacation during the period indicated. In 1878. when a mere boy. he was intrusted by his father to look after the erection of the latter's large business block, and to him also fell the duty of remodeling and enlarging the same structure in 1884, besides con- ducting the rapidly increasing business and judiciously investing the earnings in the meantime.
On the death of his father Mr. Metzger was appointed his executor, and later was empowered to act in the same capacity for his mother. He managed the combined estates in an able and judicious manner, adjusting matters con- nected therewith to the satisfaction of all concerned. His efforts while look- ing after the respective interests of the several heirs, together with the ability displayed in the management of the large property intrusted to him, won the confidence of the various members of the family and today there is no man in
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Shelbyville who has a cleaner business record or who stands higher in the es- teem of the public. Mr. Metzger enjoys the distinction of being one of the city's most enterprising and reliable citizens, and as such manifests a lively in- terest in all enterprises for the material progress of the community and the general welfare of his fellow men. He is an active member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Impr wed Order of Red Men, and with his wife belongs to the First Presbyterian church of Shelbyville. to the support of which he is a liberal contributor.
Mr. Metzger's domestic life dates from October 26, 1904. at which time he was united in marriage with Carrie Applas, daughter of John D. and Louise (Chambers) Applas, of Shelbyville. Mrs. Metzger was born in St. Mary's. Ohio, January 27. 1884. and is a lady of sterling worth, well fitted to be the wife of the broad-minded progressive man of affairs whom she is proud to call her husband. They reside in a beautiful modern dwelling, which Mr. Metz- ger erected in 1904-05. and have one child. a daughter. by the name of Mary Louise, whose presence adds life and interest to the home circle.
LEANDER BILLM.IN.
A descendant of worthy ancestors is the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch, one of the representative citizens of Shelby county. Lander Billman was born in Marion township. Shelby county, Indiana, in 1845. the son of Michael and Magdalene ( Ecker) Billman, both natives of old Alsace. IFrance, having left that country to try their fortunes in the new world across the Atlantic in 1826. when they were fourteen years of age. They were married in Cincinnati, Ohio, to which city Mr. Billman came first, and where he grew to manhood, having been in business there for a short time. In about 1835 he came to the newer country of Indiana, locating in Marion township, Shelby county, where he lived until his death in 1896, after a long, honorable and useful life, which was crowned with success, having attained the advanced age of eighty-four years. His family consisted of nine children, of whom only three are now living. They are Marion, who maried Doctor Wells, is living in Chicago: Lizzie is living in Shelbyville : Leander, of this review.
Leander Billman lived on his father's farm until he was about thirty years of age. The land was new when settled by his father, and much hard work was required to develop it into a good farm, and our subject did his just share in this work. He was married in September. 1865. to Jane Thomas, daughter of Sylvester and Colista ( Kitchel ) Thomas. Sylvester Thomas was born in Marion township. this county. in 1827. the son of William and Mary ( Reece ) Thomas. Grandfather Thomas was from Wales. William and
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Mary Thomas came to Shelby county among the pioneers of 1821, locating in Marion township. Sylvester married Colista Kitchel. a native of Shelby county, the daughter of 'Squire Percy Kitchel. The maiden name of her mother was Mary Fox.
To Mr. and Mrs. Billman four children have been born. three of whom are living, namely : Augustus S .. Lena and Raleigh O.
After his marriage Mr. Billman lived for a period of seven years in Marien township. then moved to Addison township and purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres on Little Blue, three miles from Shelbyville. Seven years later he sold this farm and bought land in Blue River township, in Hancock county, consisting of two hundred and forty acres, on which he lived for ten years. In 1800 he moved back to Marion township. Shelby county, where he has a splendid farm of two hundred and fifty-five acres. In the spring of 1906 he moved into Shelbyville in Terrace Addition, South Shelby street, where he bought a beautiful modern home. He still manages his two farms, although his son. Augustus, lives on the home place in Marion town- ship. He married Alice Vasbinder. of Indianapolis. Lena. the subject's daughter, married Floyd Ryerson, of New York. They live on a farm in Oklahoma. Raleigh Billman married Edith Deare, of Indianapolis. He is engaged in the drug business in that city.
In all of his farming Mr. Billman has shown that he has rare judgment and he has made a great success wherever he has lived. owing to his habits of industry, his close application to his own affairs and his honest dealing with his fellow men. He deserves a great deal of credit for what he has accomplished. owing to the fact that he started in life with no other assistance than a strong will and a purpose to succeed at all hazards. He and his wife belong to the Methodist church. In politics Mr. Billman is a Republican, but has never sought public office. He is a quiet, unassuming. pleasant mannered man, whom everybody likes.
ST. CLAIR ENSMINGER.
Pioneers of the pioneers, strong, strenuous and enterprising, the mention of this family name carried the mind back to the primeval forest. the woodland trace, the cabin of logs and all the other features of the heroic days. The traditions handed down are of unusual interest as they deal with the Indian foray, the inroad and capture of prisoners. the sharp wits that outwitted even the wily savages and adventures going back to the stirring days of Daniel Boone. Joshua Ensminger, who is the progenitor of the western branch of this family, was a native of Rockbridge county, Virginia, and a hero of the Revolutionary war. He was the father of four sons. Philip, Andrew, Riley
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and John. all of whom became frontiersmen during the tragic settlement of the states carved out of the Northwest Territory. Philip and Andrew Ensminger led the van as the first of this name to appear in the desolate wilds of Indiana. Before starting west, the former had married Polly, daughter of John and Cloe ( Flynn) Ballard. residents of Boone county, Virginia. when that section was part of "The Dirk and Bloody Ground." Tradition tells that Cloe Flynn and an ther small girl were captured by the Indians during one of the inroads into the state beyond the Ohio. These pioneer children had wits sharpened by life in the forest, 'were familiar with the woods strategems, and by exercising their faculties, aided their friends in the rescue work. By tearing off bits of their aprons and dropping them along the route. also digging their shoe-heels into the ground when the Indians were not watching. they made a trail easily followed by the sharp-eyed Daniel Boone and his kinsman Galloway. which resulted in the recapture of Cloe Flynn. It was in 1827 that Philip and Polly ( Ballard) Ensminger came down the Ohio river in a skiff. eventually landing at the then small city of Cincinnati. Brother Andrew came at that time with his wife and one child. Buying a horse. Polly was given a seat on its back while Philip led. and this couple started on the unknown route through the neighboring state. After several days' journey over Indian trails, through virgin forests and across innumerable streams these adventurers finally drew up on a bluff overlooking an attractive valley. It proved to be a point on Conn's Creek. in Liberty township, two miles south of the present village of Blue Ridge. Here they pitched a three-faced camp. he working in the night to clear the ground, while his wife held pine-knot torches, to give the builder necessary light. Later a quarter section of government land was purchased, and Philip and Polly soon had a home and a fair measure of prosperity. A few years later his parents and brothers Riley and John joined the little colony for weal or woe.
Philip was the father of twelve children, and among the number was St. Clair Ensminger. He was born on the old homestead in Liberty township. September 10. 1827. As he grew up he helped his father clear the forest, which was so dense that it was necessary to cut one's way through. He is able to tell at first hand all the trials and tribulations as well as the rude pleasures that were the lot of pioneer children. He got his start in life by renting land in 1848 and farming it after the crude and hard methods pre- vailing in those days. His first purchase was of eighty acres in Van Buren township, to which he subsequently added two adjoining tracts of eighty acres each, which made him altogether a very respectable farm of two hundred and forty acres. Afterwards he disposed of eighty acres to one of his sons. but still owns one hundred and sixty acres two miles north of Fairland. In 1878 he gave up farming and engaged in the livery business at Shelbyville. which, however, was disposed of in a few years. Mr. Ensminger was always
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CHARLES A. TINDALL, M. D.
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an enthusiastic Democrat. and one of the local leaders, and received many honors from his party. He was elected trustee of Addison township. and owing to an extension of the term by the Legislature. held the office five years. He has the distinction of being the only Democrat elected Trustee of Addison township since Shelby township was cut off. In 1877 Mr. Ensminger pur- chased a home in Shelbyville, on West Washington street, where he has since resided. Of his five brothers and six sisters only two survive. Andrew, who was born in 1842. was a farmer most of his life, served as a U'nion soldier during the Civil war, and is now living in retirement at Shelbyville. Roxy, the only surviving sister. married John Wilson and resides on a farm at Waldron. In November, 1866, Mr. St. Clair Ensminger was elected Coroner. was re-elected in 1868, and served in all four years. In 1870 he was elected County Commissioner, was re-elected in 1873. and served in this important office for six years.
In 1848 Mr. Ensminger married Sarah Wilson, who was brought here by her parents from Kentucky during her childhood. Of six children, only two are living. Brown Ensminger. the oldest, lives in Van Buren township, and Ballard is a resident of Elwood. Indiana. Elzy, another son, died April 21. 1909. He taught school in his younger days, and in March, 1873. married Martha E .. daughter of Jacob Hilligoss, by whom he had three children, Oscar. Nellie and Urban. For a number of years before his death he was a farmer in Brandywine township. Mrs. Sarah Ensminger died February 22, 1897. and on February 22. 1899. Mr. Ensminger married Mrs. Melissa Wanee. widow of Charles L. Wanee. She was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, and brought here in 1852 by her parents. John and Rheuamy Teeple. For twenty years before her last marriage she was a resident of Sugar Creek township. Mr. Ensminger is a Methodist and his wife a member of the Baptist church.
CHARLES ALBERT TINDALL, M. D.
The distinguished success achieved by the subject of this article as a physician has earned for him a reputation much more than local. and it is a compliment worthily bestowed to class him with leading men of his calling in the county honored by his citizenship. Dr. Charles Albert Tindall, whose active professional career dates from 1887, has been a life-long resident of Shelby county, and since engaging in the noble and humane work of minis- tering to the ills of his fellow men, he has made his home in the city of Shelby- ville.
The Tindall family is of Scotch-Irish origin, and the descendants of the ancestors who originally immigrated to this country combine many of the
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sterling qualities and sturdy characteristics for which their dual-nationality has long been distinguished. Isaac Tindall, the doctor's grandfather. was a native of Delaware, but in early life went to Kentucky, thence after a residence of a few years migrated to Shelby county, Indiana, when this part of the state was but a wilderness, and took an active part in its development. He was a true type of the rugged pioneer of the early day. experienced his full share of the hardships and vicissitudes of the period in which he lived and wrought. and in due time realized the results of his labors and struggles in a good farm and comfortable home which he developed from the virgin forest.
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