USA > Indiana > Marion County > Indianapolis > Early reminiscences of Indianapolis, with short biographical sketches of its early citizens, and a few of the prominent business men of the present day > Part 31
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33
GOVERNOR CONRAD BAKER.
It is but seldom that a public man reaches the highest posi- tion in the gift of the people of his State without the tongue of defamation or vituperation being hurled at him by his po- litical opponents, especially when the passions and prejudices of the people are excited to the utmost tension, as was the case during the Gubernatorial canvass of 1868, which was but a month previous to that of the Presidential, when both political parties were straining every nerve, but such was the fact, that not the least charge of private or publie misconduct was laid at the door of Governor Baker, although he had been
420
Early Reminiscences.
the acting chief executive of the State for sometime. His administration had been characterized as an upright, honest and conscientious one, so much so that his honorable oppo- nent found nothing to attack but the measures of the party of which Governor Baker was the chosen representative.
Conrad Baker is a native of the Key Stone State, born in Franklin County on the 12th of February, 1817; was educa- ted at the Pennsylvania College at Gettysburgh, Pennsylva- nia ; studied law in the office of Stevens & Smyser, the firm consisting of the late Thaddeus Stevens and Judge Daniel M. Smyser. He was admitted to the bar in the spring of 1839, at Gettysburg, and practiced at that place for two years.
He emigrated West and settled at Evansville in 1841, where he has ever since resided until the office of Governor devolved upon him, in January, 1867, by the election of Governor Mor- ton to the Senate of the United States, since which time he has resided at Indianapolis,
He was elected in 1845 to represent Vanderburgh County in the General Assembly and served one term; was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the district com- prising the counties of Warrick and Vanderburgh in 1852, and served about eighteen months, when he resigned. He was nominated for Lieutenant Governor, without his know- ledge and without having sought the nomination, by the Re- publican party in 1856, on the ticket which was headed by Governor Morton as the candidate for Governor. Morton and Baker were defeated, and Willard and Hammond were elected.
He was commissioned in 1861 Colonel of the First Indiana Cavalry, 28th Regiment Indiana Volunteers, and served as such for over three years.
From August, 1861, to April, 1863, he commanded either his own Regiment or a Brigade in the field in Missouri, Ar- kansas and Mississippi.
In April, 1863, an order from the Secretary of War reached
421
Governor Conrad Baker.
him by telegraph at Helena, Arkansas, requiring him to pro- ceed forthwith to Indianapolis, Indiana, and report to the Pro- vost Marshal General. He obeyed the order, and on his ar- rival at Indianapolis he received an order detailing him to act as Assistant Provost Marshal General for the State of Indi- ana, and as such to organize the Provost Marshal General's Bureau in this State.
He performed the duties of Provost Marshal General, Su- perintendent of Volunteer Recruiting and Chief Mustering Officer until August, 1864, when his term of military service having expired he was relieved at his own request, and a few weeks afterwards he, together with his regiment, was mus- tered out of service.
The Republican Convention, which met in 1864, nominated Governor Morton for re-election, and nominated General Na- than Kimball, who was in the field, for the office of Lieuten- ant Governor. General Kimball declined the nomination, and thereupon the Republican State Central Committee, without his being a candidate or applicant for the position, unani- mously tendered him the nomination for Lieutenant Governor. In 1865 Governor Morton convened the General Assembly in special session, and immediately after the delivery of his mes- sage started for Europe, in quest of health, leaving Governor Baker in charge of the administration of the Executive De- partment of the State Government. Governor Morton was absent for five months, during which time Governor Baker performed the duties of Governor. In February, 1867, Gov- ernor Morton was elected to the Senate of the United States, and the duties of Governor devolved upon Governor Baker.
He was unanimously re-nominated by the Republican Con- vention of 1868 for Governor, and was elected over the Hon. Thomas A. Hendricks (one of the most popular men of the State) by the small majority of 961 votes.
This canvass was conducted by those two gentlemen with
422
Early Reminiscences.
the best of feeling personally toward each other, nothing hav- ing occurred to mar the good feeling, or the social relations existing between them, each party having their ablest expo- nents of their measures.
There is yet, fresh in the minds of the people, a circum- stance that shows that Governor Baker can not be approached with a proposition in "indecent haste," which if entertained by him would be derogatory to him as a gentleman, and be- neath the dignity of the Chief Executive of the State.
In saying this of one of Indiana's purest public men and popular Governor, the writer can not be charged with being influenced by party considerations, but a desire to "render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar's, and unto God the things which are God's."
MAJOR ELISHA G. ENGLISH.
Mr. English is a native of Kentucky, but removed to Scott County, Indiana, about the year 1818. He has made that county his residence ever since, although temporarily residing in Indianapolis at present, and a frequent visitor to this place for the last forty years. In fact, during a great portion of that long period, he has been in attendance during the session of the Legislature either as a member of the House of Rep- resentatives or a Senator, having probably served in that ca- pacity a greater number of sessions, and covering a longer period of time than any man now living. We distinctly re- member Major English as a member of the Legislature from Scott County nearly forty years ago, about the outgoing of James B. Ray and the incoming of Noah Noble as Governor; when his associates in the House were James Rariden, George H. Dunn, John Vawter, Elish M. Huntington, Geo. H. Profitt, Samuel Bigger, Caleb B. Smith, John H. Thompson, Joseph A. Wright, Amos Lane, and others who made some mark in the world, but have passed away. In fact, of his earlier asso-
423
Mayor Macauley.
ciates in the Legislature, but few are now living. He is one of the few links in the chain remaining that connects the carly history of the State with the present. He was for several years United States Marshal for the State of Indiana, and under his administration of that office the census of the State was taken in 1860. He was several times sheriff of his county and held many other official positions, showing that he always had the confidence of the people who best knew him.
A man of pretty strong prejudices, and an earnest hater where he does hate, he is nevertheless a man of the kindest and most charitable disposition, and particularly devoted to his friends.
During Major English's long public career he was a promi- nent and leading man with his party, and his public life was characterized by honesty of purpose, fidelity to his principles, pursuing at the same time an open, frank and upright course to- ward his political opponents. He was a supporter of General Jackson, "the Sage of the Hermitage," and has ever contin- ued a member of the Democratic party.
Although now advanced in years he retains a great deal of the activity and vivacity of his youthful days. Without the benefit of an early education, and a self-made man in all res- pects, his career, as well as his person, clearly indicate that his is " a sound mind in a sound body."
His only son is our fellow-citizen, Hon. William H. Eng- lish, long a Representative in Congress from the southern por- tion of this State, and now President of the First National Bank.
MAYOR MACAULEY.
Danicl Macauley, the present Mayor of Indianapolis, is a native of the Empire City, born in New York on the 8th of September, 1839, of Irish parentage.
When he was seven years of age his parents removed to
424
Early Reminiscences.
Buffalo, where his father died of cholera in August, 1849. He was then apprenticed to learn the book-binding business, and there worked at his trade, with but few years intermission, until 1860, when he came to Indianapolis. He then worked for Messrs. Bingham & Doughty in the Sentinel Book-Bind- ing Establishment until the beginning of the war in 1861. He at once entered as a private in the " Indianapolis Zouaves," and was elected First Lieutenant of the Company, which was assigned to the 11th Indiana Regiment, commanded by Col. Lew Wallace. He was appointed by Col. Wallace Adjutant before the Regiment left for the field. In one year he was made Major. In September, 1862, was made Lieutenant-Col- onel; in March, 1863, Colonel, and was twice brevetted Briga- dier General for services in battle ; was in command of a Brig- ade about one year ; was twice severely wounded, once through the thigh during the battle before Vicksburg, and again on the day of "Sheridan's ride " at Cedar ( reek, Virginia, in the hip, this last bullet remaining in his body beyond the reach of extraction.
He was constantly in service for five years, with the excep- tion of thirty days .. He was at Donaldson, Shiloh, the siege of Vicksburg ; with Banks in Louisiana, Sheridan in the Shen- andoah Valley, and in all the battles and campaigns in which the Regiment participated.
Mayor Macauley was married March 26, 1863, and while in the army, to the daughter of Rev. A. S. Ames, and when the war was over he again engaged in the book-binding business.
In April, 1867, he was nominated by the Republican party as their candidate for Mayor of this city and elected in May, and in April, 1869, was re-nominated and re-elected for ano- ther term of two years.
The reader will readily perceive that Mayor Macauley has been the architect of his own fortune, and has rose quite early in life to a high and responsible position, and possesses
425
Joseph and Morris Solomon.
in a high degree the requisite qualifications for the trust re- posed in him.
He is a man of pleasing and agreeable manners, and in his intercourse with his subordinate officials seems void of that vanity too often found in persons who reach high positions early in life ; this fact renders him quite popular with his col- leagues in the city government. Amid the "noise and con- fusion " that is sometimes observed in the Council as well as in other deliberative bodies, the sound of his hammer never fails to restore order and decorum.
JOSEPH AND MORRIS SOLOMON.
These gentlemen were the first to hang out the three brass, or golden colored balls, in Indianapolis, and the first in the State to do a regular pawnbroking business; although it has been done in this place in a private way since Jacob Landis advanced twenty dollars to a needy painter, on a half bushel of White River bottom corn, supposing the box to contain the honest mechanic's tools.
We are aware that there is an unfounded prejudice against this branch of business, but it is generally found among that class of citizens whose necessities never require them to borrow such small amounts as are loaned by the pawnbroker. Still the small dealers sometimes find the pawnbroker's office very convenient, and apply to them for aid. For instance he has a note due in bank for three hundred dollars and has exhausted all his immediate resources, and yet lacks twenty- five dollars, he wishes to keep his credit good for future ac- commodations, he might, as far as credit is concerned, let it all lay over as to lack the twenty-five dollars. He has a fine watch which he can do without the use of for a few days ; he takes it to the broker, raises the money, pays the whole note, saves his credit, saves the cost of protest, which would
18H
426
Early Reminiscences.
amount to as much, if not more than he would have to pay for the use of the money.
Again, he might be caught from home without money or friends, and unfortunately gets into trouble, no difference what causes it, it is enough to know he is in trouble and among strangers, and wishes to get out as easy and favorably as possible, to write home would render his family uneasy, while at the same time if he was there he could raise the amount without any difficulty. Suppose he should wait for the answer ; his hotel bill would be treble what he would have to pay the pawnbroker for the use of the money, he has a diamond pin, he takes it to the broker and receives on it the amount he wants and goes home. When onee at home he quickly raises the money and sends by express for his diamond, without his friends or the public knowing his trouble, conse- quently saving exposure and mortification.
In the year 1843 the writer arrived in Memphis, Tennessee, on board a steamboat with about sixty horses, and having been detained on the river longer than it was expected, and the transportation more than he had provided for, found him- self without a sou marke, what to do I knew not; although well aware that I would soon realize all I needed from the sale of horses, but persons knowing my situation would take advantage of it. At that time I did not know what a pawn- broker's shop was. My friend who was assisting me in the sale of the horses had had some experience in that way before. He was the owner of a gold watch worth some two hundred dollars. He seemed amused at my uneasiness, but soon after landing, and without telling me what he intended to do, we stepped into an office, the sign of which was three brass balls,- he pulled out his watch and received one hundred dollars, which certainly made me feel one thousand dollars better off, and greatly relieved my mind. The interest we paid was nothing compared to the accommodation we received. No
427
Joseph and Morris Solomon.
one but the broker knew our situation, consequently advantage was taken of it.
But there are other and equally beneficial cases when the pawnbroker is useful, a mechanic or laboring man may be sick ; Saturday evening finds him without his weekly stipend for the support of his family. What are they to do ? His house is well provided with the necessary furniture that per- tains to house keeping, but his children can not eat the furni- ture, neither will the corner grocer take it for his coffee, sugar, butter and other necessaries for the use of his family, if he did it would be at a ruinous sacrifice. What is he to do ? His children must be fed ; his wife takes some article, the use of which could be dispensed with until the next Saturday night, to the Messrs. Solomon, and gets money enough to purchase what they need for the present. I have no doubt those gentlemen have relieved hundreds of similar cases to this.
I am aware that it would not do to make a business of borrowing large sums from pawnbrokers at their usual rates of interest. No sensible man would pretend to use the ac- commodations of the pawnbroker as they would that of the banker who loans large amounts for the use of specula- tion and at comparative small interest, but to the laboring or poorer classes the broker is as useful as the banker is to the wealthier, and perhaps relieve more real want and misery.
In " Harper's New Monthly " for June, I find an article on " Pawnbroking " that gives it great antiquity and origin- ating under the Mosaie Law, and has been considered in all ages and countries useful and handed down to the present generation, and especially to Indianapolis, in the persons of J. & M. Solomon.
From that article I copy to show the delusion that many persons are under in regard to their legitimate business :
" It is not so often as in popularity supposed, perhaps, that
no
428
Early Reminiscences.
the licensed pawnbrokers are brought under the eye of the legal authorities as receivers of stolen goods.
"Not only does their accountability to the police exercise a wholesome influence, but their liability to the law. al owners of goods, fraudulently obtained, has a tendency to render them careful, even if they were otherwise disposed to be un- mindful of their duties as citizens, and their acquaintance with certain goods of our criminal population is such that they are not likely to be made the unwitting accomplices of even petty theft.
" Moreover the spoils obtained by the more active thieves of the metropolis are generally of a nature and value to call for the services of a different class of men, some of whom may be herein mentioned."
This article of the New Monthly goes on to show that a very small part of the pawnbroking business of New York is done by the licensed broker, and that that part that is done with thieves and their accomplices is a different kind of persons no better than the thief himself, and their business generally transacted in dark alleys, garrets or out of the way places, not where the three balls hang conspicuous above the door.
This much I have thought proper to say in behalf of those worthy citizens.
Messrs. Solomon tell me they were originally from Lon- don, but more directly from Philadelphia to this city, about ten years since. For a while they were in the tobacco business, but for the last five or six years in that of which I have been writing. In their store, No. 25, South Illinois Street, just south of the "Palmer House," may be found almost every article of necessity or utility.
" From a cambric needle to a crowtar,
A penny pitcher, or two-penny jar."
Messrs. Solomon belong to that highly respectable class of
429
Daniel M. Ransdell.
citizens known as Hebrews, which Gentiles call Jews. They have been very active and energetic in the interest and con- tribution to the building of their beautiful temple of worship, the "Synagogue," which is an ornament to our city and a eredit to them as a religious denomination.
They have by their kind and obliging disposition, their gentlemanly bearing and manners won the respect, and enjoy the confidence of our business community, and their social qualities make them ever welcome at our firesides.
DANIEL M. RANSDELL,
The present efficient Clerk of the city, is a native of this (Ma- rion) County, born on the 15th of June, 1852, and educated at the Franklin College, Johnson College, Indiana.
In the war for the preservation of the Union he entered the service as a private, on the 28th of July, 1862, and served as such until wounded on the 15th of May, 1864, by which he lost his right arm.
By this misfortune, though a severe one, he was not de- terred from making himself useful to the public ; he at once set to work to learn to write with his left hand, which he ae- complished very readily, and now writes a fine business hand.
He was elected to the office of City Clerk on the first Tues- day of May, 1867, and re-elected to the same office on the first Tuesday in May, 1869. This position he has now filled three years, and to the entire satisfaction of the public.
He is an efficient worker in the Sunday Schools of the city and in the cause of all religious or benevolent institutions generally.
" May ne'er misfortune's growling bark Howl thro' the dwelling O' the Clerk. May ne'er his generous, honest heart, For that same gen'rous spirit smart "
430
Early Reminiscences.
WILLIAM HANNAMAN
Has been a prominent business man of Indianapolis for over forty years. He came to this place in the year 1826 quite a young man, and for several years worked at his trade, or rather the profession of a printer, in the office of the "Indiana Journal," when that paper was controlled and owned by Douglass & Maguire.
About the year 1832 he engaged with the late Caleb Scud- der in the drug business, and continued it for several years. They also erected a carding machine and oil mill on the arm of the Canal at its junction with White River ; here was man- ufactured the first flax seed oil in this part of the country.
Mr. Hannaman was for many years School Commissioner, a Director of the Branch of the State Bank of Indiana loca- ted at this place, Trustee of the State University, and during the war Sanitary Agent for Indiana. He has been connected with many of our benevolent and charitable institutions and always gave his aid and influence to any enterprise calculated to redound to the benefit of the city and the public at large. He is yet one of our active business men, and resides in the suburbs of the city. At the present time he is connected with his son in the drug business on the northwest corner of Washington and Delaware streets.
JOHN M. KEMPER,
Who has been a master carpenter of this city for thirty years, is a native of the Blue Grass region of Kentucky, was born and resided in Fayette County until his eighteenth year.
In 1830 he came to this (Marion) County, and for ten years farmed about four miles southeast of the city on Lick Creek.
In 1840 he came to the city, since which time he has been . one of the working mechanics of the place.
In 1862 he was appointed city Street Commissioner, served
٢
Corson Vickers. 431
one term of two years, and made a faithful and energetic offi- cer, always performing his duty to the letter.
Mr. Kemper is a member of the First Baptist Church of this city ; his countenance, as well as his name, has been familiar to the writer for forty years, and we have ever re- garded him as an upright, honest and conscientious man, which is proven by his every day walk in life. He resides and owns some valuable property on the northwest corner of South and New Jersey streets, where has been his home some twenty-eight years.
CORSON VICKERS
Was a well known citizen of Indianapolis for several years. He was from Campbell County, Kentucky, to this place in 1827, when he was quite a boy.
Soon after he came here he engaged with Thomas M. Smith and learned the tailoring business. After his apprenticeship was finished he worked at his trade a few years. He then engaged in merchandising and was a successful merchant.
After this he was elected sheriff of the county and collec- tor of the State and county revenue. This office he held two terms, or four years. He then became a stockholder and di- rector of the Indianapolis Insurance Company, an institution that did a money brokerage business.
Mr. Vickers was an energetic, industrious man, and accu- mulated property rapidly. He died in May, 1843, at the age of thirty-four years.
His second wife was the niece of the Hon. Nathan B Pal- mer. By her he left two children, a son and a daughter, who are yet residents of the city.
The son, William B. Vickers, is the proprietor and editor of the "Saturday Evening Mirror." The daughter is the widow of Lieutenant Colonel Richard O'Neal, late of the 26th
432
Early Reminiscences.
Regiment Indiana Volunteers. Colonel O'Neal served about fifteen months at the beginning of the rebellion. He died at his residence in this city January, 1863.
EDMUND BROWNING.
Mr. Browning is a native of Culpepper County, Virginia, but came to Mason County, Kentucky, when a child, and was there raised.
After keeping a hotel in West Union, Columbus, and Day- ton, Ohio, he came to this place in the fall of 1836, and for about thirteen years kept the Washington Hall.
Mr. Browning was ever a popular hotel keeper, and his house was the Whig headquarters of this place, and for mem- bers of the Legislature, so long as he kept it.
He retired from hotel-keeping some twenty years since, and has for several years been the Register of the Land Office in this place.
Although he has passed his three-score and ten years, he is yet quite active, and may be seen on our streets daily, as has been his wont for the last thirty-four years.
SCHWABACHER & SELIG.
These two young Bavarians, Jos. Schwabacher and Abram Isaac Jacob Selig, came to this city in the year 1866, and im- mediately engaged in the wholesale liquor business.
They were directly from Peoria, Illinois, where they were engaged in the same business for a short time.
Since they became residents of Indianapolis they have suc- ceeded in building up a fine trade. Although this city was pretty well supplied with similar business establishments, they have now a trade throughout this as well as other more West- ern States.
Since he became a resident of this city Mr. Schwabacher has taken a life partner in the person of Miss Matilda Bakrow,
Dr. James Ellerby. 433
one of the belles of Louisville, Kentucky, and daughter of the late John Bakrow, who was a well-known and wealthy dry goods merchant of that city.
Mr. Selig too, like Isaac of old, has found his " Rebekah," whether she was found by his father's servants drawing water at the well I have no means of knowing, but like Rebekah, is perhaps willing to draw water for Isaac's camels. Suffice it to say, he sought and found a prize of inestimable value. May their young loves never be sullied, their lives o'er cast or darkened by sorrow.
DR. JAMES ELLERBY.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.