Greater Indianapolis : the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes, Part 121

Author: Dunn, Jacob Piatt, 1855-1924. cn
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 972

USA > Indiana > Marion County > Indianapolis > Greater Indianapolis : the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes > Part 121

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Concerning Mr. Coburn, the venerable and distinguished citizen of Indianapolis, Dr. William H. Wishard, now more than ninety years of age, has given the following appre- ciative estimate: "Henry P. Coburn was an attorney, very modest and unassuming, a first-class type of a Christian gentleman of the old school. He was well educated and was a graduate of Harvard College. In his legal business he was very generous to his clients, never exacting pay from the poor and indigent for his professional services. Jus- tice has never been done to this gentleman by the history and historians of early Indian- apolis and Marion County, as a worthy, far- seeing citizen, looking after the educational and moral welfare of this pioneer town. He was one of the very first advocates of general education of the people, long before the establishment of the public-school system. He held various offices of trust. He was the earliest and most active advocate for tem- perance and took a bold and determined stand against the licensing of grog shops in Marion County. He and Nicholas McCarty, Calvin Fletcher, James M. Ray, Samuel Mer- rill, David V. Culley and John B. Dillon were the earliest and most active advocates of the public-school system."

From another representative source are taken the following pertinent statements : "Mr. Coburn was prominent and active among those who insisted upon a liberal pro- vision by law for the establishment of the free-school system, which met with decided and vigorous opposition. He was a graduate of Harvard and a man of great influence among all classes, who respected him for his

earnestness and honesty. No one was more prominent in the establishing and support of the free-school system than Mr. Coburn, and it is remarkable that no proper recognition of him has been made by the citizens of Indiana for his constant services in the establishment of the public schools. He was connected with all public-spirited enterprises. He was posi- tive in his opinions and was a man of fine principles and well trained mind. He. did more for the promotion of the free-school system of Marion County than any other man, and was always on the school board."

The religious faith of Mr. Coburn which permeated his whole life was that of the Presbyterian Church, in whose work he took an active part, while he also gave his aid and encouragement to the churches of other de- nominations. His wife held membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church.

While residing in Corydon, this state, Mr. Coburn was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Malott, who was born at Louisville, Kentucky, a daughter of Hiram Malott, one of the ster- ling pioneers of that state. Of the history of the Malott family detailed data was given on other pages of this work, in the sketch of the career of Volney T. Malott, of Indian- apolis,and as ready reference may be made to the article mentioned it is not demanded that the information be repeated in this sketch. Mr. Coburn was summoned to the life eternal in 1854, about two years after leaving the office of clerk of the supreme court, and his, cherished and devoted wife, a woman of singularly gracious personality, passed away in 1866, at which time she was about seventy-four years of age. They be- came the parents of four sons and one daugh- ter, none of whom are now surviving. The daughter. Caroline, became the wife of Dr. Robert F. Bence, of Indianapolis, whom she survived, and her death occurred in the city in 1903. : The eldest son Augustus was drowned in Lake Superior at the age of 42 and his body was never recovered; he had amassed a fortune in copper. The second son John died in 1908, at the age of 82. He was a judge, a general in the Union army, a mem- ber of Congress for eight years and typified everything that belongs to a first class city. One son died young and the other, Henry Co- burn, died in 1909, of whom specific mention is made on following pages.

HENRY COBURN. A son of that honored and distinguished pioneer of Indianapolis, the late Henry P. Coburn, to whom a memoir is dedicated on other pages of this publica- tion, Henry Coburn maintained his home in the Indiana capital from the time of his

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birth until his death May 3, 1909, and well upheld the prestige of the honored name which his father bore. He was long num -- bered among the representative business men and public-spirited citizens of Indianapolis, where for many years he was engaged in the lumber business, and later as president of the Henry Coburn Warehouse & Storage Com- pany. He ever maintained the highest civic ideals and accomplished much for the pro- motion of the best interests of his native city, his allegiance to and affection for which have never wavered. A man of fine intellectuality, urbane and gracious personality, progressive ideas and utmost loyalty, he made his influ- ence felt for good in manifold ways, and to the last of his seventy-five years held a se- cure place in the confidence and regard of the people of Indianapolis.

At the old family homestead in Indian- apolis Henry Coburn was ushered into the world on the 17th of September, 1834. His childhood and youth gave to him lasting memories of the conditions and associations of the pioneer capital village, which then gave slight evidence of becoming an impor- tant commercial and industrial center, a beautiful metropolitan city. He was the last survivor of the five children born to Henry P. and Sarah (Malott) Coburn, and adequate data concerning the family history may be found in the previously mentioned sketch of the career of his honored father.

Mr. Coburn was afforded the advantages of the common schools and the old Marion County Seminary, and his youth was also en- compassed by the gracious influences of a home of significant culture and refinement. In 1859, at the age of twenty-five, he engaged in the retail lumber business, and his energy, careful management and enterprising meth- ods made the business a success from the start. No citizen was for a longer period identified with this line of enterprise in In- dianapolis and none attained in such connec- tion a more worthy and distinctive success. In this business he was associated with his father-in-law, William H. Jones, until the death of the latter, in 1886, and thereafter he conducted it, under title of the Henry Co- burn Lumber Company, until 1903, when he retired from the field that had so long en- grossed a large part of his time and atten- tion. He was president of the company and as such directed its affairs with consummate discrimination and ability, his long associa- tion with the lumber trade having made him an authority in connection therewith. After withdrawing from the lumber business, Mr. Coburn conceived the idea of using the site

of his former yards for the establishing of a storage warehouse of the most modern type, being led to thus utilize the property largely by reason of the excellent shipping facilities controlled by him. He completed the erec- tion of his extensive warehouse in 1906, the structure being essentially fire-proof, six stories in height, with basement, giving seven acres storage capacity-and massively built of steel and brick. This is the only storage warehouse in the city containing a railroad on which a train of cars can enter to receive and unload freight of various kinds. 'At the time .of his death Mr. Coburn owned control- ling stock in the Henry Coburn Warehouse & Storage Company and as president of the same gave his personal supervision to the ex- ecutive management of the business

During the years of his active association with the business affairs of Indianapolis, Mr. Coburn did not hedge himself in with mere commercialism, but maintained at all times the attitude of a loyal, liberal and progres- sive citizen; one ever ready to lend his influ- ence and tangible aid in support of enter- prises and measures tending to conserye the general welfare of the community. He iden- tified himself with representative civic and social organizations in his native city, in- cluding the Indianapolis Board of Trade, the Columbia Club and the Commercial Club. Though he never cared to enter the turbu- lent current of practical politics he was ever found stanchly aligned with the Republican party, and for years held membership in the' Second Presbyterian Church.

On the 8th , of May, 1862, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Coburn to Miss Mary Jones, who was born and reared in Indian- apolis and who is a daughter of the late William H. and Jane (Simcox) Jones, both. of whom were born in the vicinity of Chilli- cothe, Ohio. Mr. Jones was a youth at the time of his parents removal to Indianapolis, in 1824. Here his father died in 1827. He served an apprenticeship at the trade of car- riage-making and to the same he devoted his attention for a number of years, after which he was associated with Mr. Coburn in the lumber business, as has already been noted in this article. He died in 1886 and his de- voted wife was summoned to eternal rest June 27, 1910, both having been members of the First Baptist Church and he having been identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. They became the parents of three daughters: Anna, who is the widow of Frederick B. Brownell, formerly engaged in the manufacturing of street cars in the City of St. Louis, Missouri ; Fannie J., who is the

myRichards

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HISTORY OF GREATER INDIANAPOLIS.

wife of James S. Cruse, a representative real estate dealer of Indianapolis; and Mary, who is the widow of Mr. Coburn. Mrs. Coburn has long occupied a position of prominence in connection with the leading social activities of her native city, where her gracious per- sonality has won to her a wide circle of friends. She has taken an active interest in art, literary and other clubs and was at one time president of the Indianapolis Women's Club, an essentially representative organiza- tion. Her church connections are with the Second Presbyterian Society, as were those of her late husband.

In conclusion is entered brief record con- cerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Coburn. Mary is the wife of Wilbur B. Allen, who was a successful real estate and insurance man of Indianapolis, and who later removed to Hood River where he is engaged in the culture of apples. William H. is engaged in the lumber and coal business in this city. He is a graduate of Yale University and is one of the representative business men of his native city. He married Miss Helen Er- win, daughter of the late Daniel P. Erwin, who was a wholesale dry goods merchant of Indianapolis. Augustus, who is likewise a graduate of Yale, is now engaged in the lum- ber business in Indianapolis, where he con- ducts operations under the title of the Michi- gan Lumber Company. He married Miss Annie Peck, daughter of the late B. B. Peck, of Indianapolis, who was state manager for Indiana of the Mutual Life Insurance Com- pany of Kentucky. Henry P., the fourth in order of birth of the five children, was also graduated from Yale University, and mar- ried Miss Louise Erwin, a sister of the wife of his brother William H. Myla L. is the wife of Frank F. Powell, who has been made president of the Henry Coburn Warehouse & Storage Company, and who is a native of the city of Cincinnati, where his father was a prosperous hardware merchant. Mr. Pow- ell is a graduate of Princeton University.

AMOS WILLIAM BUTLER, secretary of the Indiana Board of State Charities, is widely known both as a natural scientist and a social reformer. He has occupied his present of- fice since 1897; is president of the American Prison Association, has served as its secre- tary since 1905; is chairman of the General Committee from the United States for the Eighth International Prison Congress in Washington in 1910, and was president of the National Conference of Charities and Correction in 1906-7. Mr. Butler was lec- turer on economics at Purdue University, 1905, and lecturer on charities, Lane Theo-

logical Seminary, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1909-10. He is as widely known in the scientific fields of zoology and anthropology as in the prov- ince of social science.

Amos W. Butler was born at Brookville, Indiana, October 1, 1860. He attended Han- over College and graduated from the Indiana University with the degree of A. M., special- izing in zoology and anthropology. He founded the Brookville Society of Natural History in 1881 and the Indiana Academy of Science in 1885, of the last he was the secretary until 1893; vice-president in 1894 and president in 1895. A Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in 1886 he was secretary of its section on Anthropology, secretary of that on Biology in 1889, a member of the council, general secretary of the association in 1891, and vice-president of the section of Anthro- pology in 1900. In 1896-7 Mr. Butler served as ornithologist of the Indiana department of Geology and Natural Resources. He is a member of American and foreign scientific societies and a frequent contributor to their proceedings.

As an author Mr. Butler has also a high and extended reputation. His most exten- sive work is the "Birds of Indiana"; but he is the author of over one hundred papers on natural history and sociological subjects, which alone would give him substantial lit- erary and scientific standing. His papers have appeared principally in scientific peri- odicals and in the publications of learned societies. .

WILLIAM J. RICHARDS. In manifold ways Major Richards has touched with effectiveness the civic and business activities of the City of Indianapolis where he has long held a posi- tion of prominence. and where his interests have been varied and important. For nearly a quarter of a century he was a part owner of the Indianapolis News and was an influential factor in shaping the policies of that great metropolitan journal.

The Richards family is an ancient Welsh one, from which in the early part of the eighteenth century four brothers came to America, three of them settling in New Eng- land and one in Maryland. From the last mentioned was descended Samuel Richards, grandfather of the subject of this sketch. He married Elizabeth Donwell, also a native of Maryland, and in 1812 they removed to Clark County, Indiana, where Samuel Richards died in 1821. Ten years later his widow and four sons, George, Rezin, Samuel and Harlan re- moved to Spencer, Owen County, where Mrs. Richards resided till her death in 1858.

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Rezin Richards, father of Major Richards, was born in Maryland in 1807 and after at- taining manhood in Indiana, was married to Elizabeth Fain Evans, a native of Kentucky, born in 1814. She was a daughter of Jesse Evans, one of the early pioneers of Owen County, Indiana, and among the most promi- nent of its early settlers. For many years he occupied the office of Justice of the Peace, which was at that time one of the most in- portant of judicial offices in the practical life of the public. Rezin and Elizabeth Fain Rich- ards were the parents of ten children, of whom six were sons. Samuel C. Richards, the eldest son, emigrated to Kansas in 1852 and took a prominent part with John Brown in resisting the encroachments of the slave owners. John Wallace, the second son, entered the practice of law at Delphi, Indiana, with brilliant prom- ise. He volunteered as a private in the 40th Indiana but on account of disability was trans- ferred to the Quartermasters' Department, in which service he died in 1864. Harlan, the fourth son, died in infancy. The fifth son, Joseph H., at the age of seventeen, without leave of his parents and without consulting brothers or friends, enlisted in the United States service. His regiment was transferred to the Marine service under, Admiral Farra- gut, participating in the famous battle of Mo- bile Bay; he has served for many years as general attorney for the Missouri Pacific Rail- road and resides at Fort Scott, Kansas. Charles M., the sixth and youngest son, is en- gaged in commercial pursuits in Muscogee, Oklahoma.

Major William J. Richards was born in Owen County, Indiana, May 15, 1840. His early education was in the common schools, but his father, desiring better advantages for his family, removed to Waveland, Montgomery County, Indiana, the seat of Waveland Col- legiate Institute. At this notable institution of its day William graduated at the age of twenty-one, taking the degree of Bachelor of Science in the class of 1861. Three years earlier he had driven one hundred and fifty miles into Illinois to hear the Lincoln-Doug- lass debate, by which he was fired with zeal for the Republican cause. He became a close stu- dent of public sentiment ; led the affirmative side in the college debate on the question. "Do the signs of the times indicate a dissolution of the Union ?": and also in a pen and ink college paper, edited by himself, advocated that view until the faculty suppressed the dis- cussion owing to interference with studies. He was desirous of entering the three months' service with General Wallace, and still more desirous to go out with Wallace in the three

years' service, but at the urgent solicitation of his parents and the faculty, consented to wait for his degree. Then with seventeen classmates and acquaintances he entered Colo- nel B. F. Scribner's 38th Ind. Vol. Inft., all enlisting as privates in Captain Poindexter's Company H. Before mustering them in, Cap- tain Poindexter generously warned them that all prospective vacancies in that regiment had already been pledged as inducements to re- . cruits, thus shutting off the chance of promo- tion ; but all remained with the company.

Concerning the military career of Major Richards the following brief record is from the pen of a fellow officer of high character and intimate knowledge of his subject :

"Having reached his majority, he enlisted as a private of the Thirty-eighth Indiana Vol- unteer Infantry. After serving fifteen months in this regiment he was transferred to the Eighty-first Indiana Infantry, with the rank of second lieutenant. Promotions followed in rapid succession through all the grades to that of major. The passage from captain to major was not by seniority, there being five senior captains in the regiment, but the selection was delegated by the governor to the line officers with the endorsement of the field and staff. Major Richards' service was entirely with the armies of the Ohio and Cumberland. He par- ticipated in all the great battles, receiving slight wounds at the battles of Stone's River and Reseca, and winning more than one spe- cial mention for gallant intrepidity. One of the memorial tablets of the bloody field of Chickamauga bears his name. Major Rich- ards' continuous service with these two regi- ments covered a period of nearly four years, within which he filled many positions, such as inspector general, adjutant general, provost marshal of corps, and judge advocate of court martial."

After the close of his military career Major Richards entered the journalistic profession, as associate editor of the Lafayette Journal, at Lafayette, Indiana, where he remained until a more advantageous offer brought him to In- dianapolis. where he soon proved his ability as a valuable factor in the newspaper field and where he filled responsible positions on dif- ferent papers until his final alliance with the Indianapolis News, with the record of whose upbuilding his name will ever be associated. He was soon made business manager of the News and not long after became one of its proprietors. Concerning his identification with this paper the following has been written:

"A finer encomium of his extraordinary abil- ity could not be framed than that which is afforded by the daily edition of the News.

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HISTORY OF GREATER INDIANAPOLIS.

Having a lofty conception of the possibilities and mission of a newspaper, he threw into the fruition of his journalistic ideals the whole dynamic force of his energy. As an independ- ent paper, clean, high and progressive in tone, recognizing the rights and needs of the people and abetting them in every possible way, the News stands pre-eminent even in the midst of such splendid journalism as that of the United States."

On the 15th of December, 1902, Major Richards became one of the organizers of the Union National Bank, of which now substan- tial and popular monetary institution he was chosen the first president. He retained this chief executive office until 1904, when he found it expedient to relegate the heavy duties of the same to others, and he has since been vice- president of the institution, which thus con- tinues to have the benefit of his counsel and administrative discrimination.

One of Major Richards' valued and note- worthy services in behalf of the community was that accorded in connection with the fix- ing of the price of gas in Indianapolis. It will be remembered that upon the discovery of natural gas in Pennsylvania the progress of the development of this great natural resource pushed rapidly westward and that finally gas was struck at a point within forty miles of In- dianapolis. At that time Major Richards was one of the proprietors of the Indianapolis News. and, in company with John H. Holli- day and· other influential citizens, he deter- mined to investigate the cost of producing the gas and piping it to the capital city. Through the efforts of these aggressive and enterpris- ing business men the matter was brought up for consideration by the city council and the representatives of the News, and a committee was sent to Pittsburg for the purpose of gain- ing all possible information. Acting upon the report of this committee, the council passed an ordinance fixing the maximum price of nat- ural gas at ten cents per thousand feet. The Standard Oil Company, whose pipe lines were then in close proximity to the city, addressed a letter to the council and stated therein that it was impossible to supply gas to consumers at the price designated, and a request was made that the price be raised fifty per cent. Public meetings were then called in the various sec- tions of the city, and it was shown conclu- sively that a large profit was insured at the price stipulated by the council. Under these conditions was brought forward the sugges- tion that an independent gas company be or- ganized. This action was finally taken and re- sulted in the organization and incorporation of the Consumers' Gas Trust Company, which

at once instituted operations with a view to furnishing gas to consumers in Indianapolis. At this juncture the Standard Oil Company, whose gas lines had been placed in service, re- duced the price of gas to ten cents per thou- sand feet, meeting the price of their rival, the Consumers' Gas Trust Company, but public sentiment had been aroused and fixed, with the result that the new company received sub- stantial encouragement and support on the part of all classes of citizens. After the lapse of a period of about twenty-one years the supply of gas became so small as to render it impos- sible for the company to continue its service, and under these conditions the corporation de- cided to engage in the manufacturing of gas. In the meanwhile the majority of the stock of the company had been purchased by a citizen of Indianapolis, but the control remained in the hands of five trustees, to whom all the stock had been assigned, with the understand- ing that stockholders were to receive the amount of their stockholdings and an interest of eight per cent on the varying amounts thus represented. Under this arrangement the city would assume the ownership of the plant. The matter was brought into court and was decided against the city. However, the terms of agree- ment were that after a period of ten years the city conld secure possession of the property at an appraised valuation. A decision in favor of the city was finally given by the courts, and the Citizens' Company then bought the proper- ty at an appraised valuation. At the request of a large number of representative citizens Major Richards became president of the company. The price of its service was then fixed at sixty cents per thousand feet, and the competing company, engaged in the supplying of arti- ficial gas before the new company began its operations in this line, was compelled to re- duce its price to the same figure, to comply with the conditions of its franchise. To Major Richards and Mr. Holliday is due especial credit for thus securing to the citizens of In- dianapolis effective gas service at reasonable rates.

Major Richards has given much time and thought to practical philanthropy, and he is especially to be commended for the interest he has taken in the maintenance of the Indianap- olis Boys' Club, of which he was president for two years. He has also served as president of the Indianapolis Press Club, in which he had the distinction of being the only person ever accorded the honor of a second term as presi- dent. He is vice-commander of the Indiana Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and is one of the valued comrades of George H. Thomas Post,

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Greater Indianapolis : the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes, Part 121

Author: Dunn, Jacob Piatt, 1855-1924. cn Publication date: 1910 Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 972

Author: Dunn, Jacob Piatt, 1855-1924. cn
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 972