Greater Indianapolis : the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes, Part 15

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 15

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While a member of the United States sen-

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ate, Senator McDonald was united in marriage to Mrs. Josephine F. (Farnsworth) Barnaso of Indianapolis, who survives him and retains her residence in Indianapolis, where, now ven- erable in years, she is held in affectionate re- gard by all who have come within the circle of her gentle and gracious influence. She was born at Westfield, New York, and is a daugh- ter of the late Joseph Farnsworth, who was long numbered among the representative citi- zens of Madison, Indiana, he having been a native of the state of New York and having been a scion of a family, of English extrac- tion, that was founded in America in the colonial epoch.

ANTOINE WIEGAND. None has a more se- cure place in the confidence and esteem of the people of Indianapolis than has Antoine Wie- gand, an honored pioneer business man, who has here conducted operations as a florist for over half a century. He was the first to prop- erly and successfully exploit this attractive line of enterprise in the capital city, and his sales- rooms and conservatories are now of the finest modern type. He caters to a large and thor- oughly representative patronage and his name is familiar to all who have been residents of the city for an appreciable period. His love for the gracious floral products of nature is of the most insistent type, and thus his devotion to his business has had both a sentimental and practical valuation, for his constant interest has promoted that close attention which pro- motes the best results in a practical way, the while he has so ordered his course, which has been marked by never-failing courtesy, that he has the affectionate regard of the patrons whom he has long supplied with the finest of floricul- tural products. He has won success through his own efforts, having come from a far country to America when a young man and having re- lied solely upon his own ambition, self-re- liance and sturdy integrity of purpose in mak- ing his way in the world. The business which he founded so many years ago is now conducted under the firm name of Wiegand & Sons, and he has as his associates in the same his two sons, who are numbered among the popular and representative younger business men of the capital city.

Antoine Wiegand, better known by the Eng- lish form of his Christian name, Anthony, was born in the kingdom of Saxony, Germany, on the 25th of April, 1832, and in the fatherland he was reared and educated. There also he gained his initial training in the line of enter- prise to which he has devoted his attention with so much of success throughout practically his entire business career, and in 1855. when twenty-two years of age, he severed the ties

that bound him to home and native land and set forth to seek his fortunes in America-a land to whose development and progress his countrymen have contributed in generous meas- ure. Soon after his arrival in the United States Mr. Wiegand came to Indianapolis, where, in 1859, he engaged in his present line of business, by establishing a modest green- house near the old district school building on Kentucky avenne. There he continued opera- tions, with ever increasing success, until 1879, when he removed to his present attractive and eligible location on Illinois street. His finely equipped hot-houses now cover an area of torty thousand square feet and are the largest and best in the entire state. His glass-covered con- servatories are most attractive and in the dis- playing of their beautiful products to his many patrons and the general public he finds a source of unqualified pleasure and satisfaction. In 1908 he erected his fine display and sales room, one hundred by twenty-six feet in dimensions, glass covered and with cement floor, and here the beautiful and varied products of his con- servatories are presented in most attractive array. Mr. Wiegand conducted the business in- dividually until about 1900, when his two sons, George B. and Homer L., were admitted to partnership, under the firm name already noted.

In the Wiegand establishment are to be found plants in greater variety and profusion than in any other one conservatory in the state, and through close study and careful attention Mr. Wiegand has been peculiarly successful in the propagation of rare species and special and original types, in which connection it may be noted that he has in stock certain single plants that are worth one hundred and fifty dollars each. A specialty is made of cut flowers and the concern also gives distinctive attention to the preparing and effective placing of interior floral decorations, so that recourse is had to the same on all important social occasions. The trade of the firm extends throughout the cities and towns in the vicinity of Indianapolis and is constantly expanding in scope and impor- tance. Mr. Wiegand was the pioneer in this line of business in the capital city. When he began operations here, fifty years ago, there was little demand for flowers aside from those grown in a private way, but through the dis- playing of his fine products he made them their own best advertisers, with the result that popu- lar appreciation and support were not denied.

Thoroughly loyal to the institutions and ideals of his adopted country, Mr. Wiegand has shown an intelligent and constant interest in both national and local governmental affairs, and he is known as a liberal and public-spirited citizen. In national affairs, where definite

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issues are involved, he gives his support to the Republican party, but in local matters he does not adhere to close partisan lines, giving, rather, his support to men and measures meeting the approval of his judgment. He is a member of the Columbia Club, and is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Roval Arcanum. He holds membership in the Tabernacle Church.

In 1865 Mr. Wiegand was united in mar- riage to Miss Katherine Kreiss, who was born in Germany, whence she came with her parents to America when a girl. Mr. and Mrs. Wie- gand have two sons and two daughters, namely: George B., Homer L., Annie and Bene.

DAVID M. ELLIOTT. Nearly thirty years of consecutive identification with the postoffice service in Indianapolis represents. the ex- ceptional record of David M. Elliott, and it is doubtful if there is another man in the service as thoroughly familiar with the same as he is or possessed of more intimate knowl- edge of the city in the matter of postal rami- fication's. He has won advancement through able and faithful service and is now incum- bent of the dual office of finance clerk and second assistant postmaster. It is needless to say that he is an official of the most ster- ling characteristics and that he is held in high regard by all who know him, being one of the well known and popular executives identified with the local postal service.

David McClure Elliott is a scion of one of the old and honored families of Indiana, of which state he is a native son. He was born on a farm in Monroe Township, Jeffer- son County, this state, on the 2d of October, 1849, and is a son of Anthony and Elizabeth (Craig) Elliott, both of whom were born in Ohio, where the respective families were founded in the pioneer days. Robert Elliott, the paternal grandfather of the subject of this review, was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, on the 15th of September, 1784, and died in Jefferson County, Indiana, June 26, 1872. He came to Indiana soon after the close of the war of 1812, prior to the admis- sion of the state to the Union, having served as a valiant and loyal soldier in the second conflict with England. He became one of the early settlers of Jefferson County, where he established one of the first tanneries in the state, having been a tanner by trade. His mother's maiden name was Jennie McClure and that of his wife .Mary Logan, and their relatives have made the names McClure and Logan prominent in the early history of Jef- ferson County and the City of Madison. An- thony Logan Elliott. the father of the subject of this sketch, was the eldest of a family of

six children, who all settled on farms in Jef- ferson County, but he died in his prime, leaving a widow and seven children, of whom David, seven years old, was the youngest and so broken in health that his early death seemed certain. He is now, however, the only survivor, but has had to use crutches since childhood. The last of those six robust brothers and sisters passed away in 1903, the lives of the brothers no doubt being greatly shortened by soldiers' hardships during four years of the Civil War. David's poor health as a boy prevented any steady attendance at school but at the age of 20 he was teaching. His mother died before he reached his ma- jority. During the last few years of her life Mr. Elliott had a step-father, Rev. Wm. Wallace, of whom he speaks in the highest terms. Mr. Elliott spent a year or two of the early seventies in thé south, teaching and doing bookkeeping in Alabama and speaks with some pride of the fact that al- though but twenty-three years old he was inspector of his precinct in that state at Grant's second election in 1872. Returning later to Indiana, he served two terms as trustee of his native township, and in 1880 was nominated for county recorder, but a de- cision of the supreme court having incident- ally deferred recorders' election for two years, Mr. Elliott came to Indianapolis in May, 1881, and took service under Postmaster Wildman (a relative), and has served contin- uously under nine postmasters, working his way up from the lower grades and reaching his present important position many years ago.

Mr. Elliott is a stanch Republican and a member of the Marion Club, but has a host of friends in all parties.

David McClure Elliott and Miss Martha Pressly were married in May, 1891, she being a native of Kosciusko County, Indiana, and the youngest daughter of Dr. Samuel Pressly, who was in his day a prominent physician of northern Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Elliott have no children of their own, but their home is kept lively by numerous nieces and nephews, as Mr. Elliott has been guardian for several families of orphans. Their home is at 2241 Talbott avenue, and both are active members of the First United Presbyterian Church.

WILLIAM B. BURFORD. Among the strong and. honored figures in the business circles of the beautiful capital city of Indiana is William B. Burford, who has here been closely identified with business and civic in- terests for more than forty years, so that he may well be designated at the present time as one of the pioneer business men of "Greater

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Indianapolis", to whose industrial and com- mercial advancement he has contributed his quota. He is a manufacturer of blank books, and his large and finely equipped establish- ment also has the best of modern facilities for lithographie work, general printing, copper- plate engraving, etc., besides which he han- dles all kinds of stationery and general office supplies. Through wise administrative pol- icy, close application, marked discrimination and impregnable integrity of purpose he has not only built up a large and important busi- ness enterprise, of metropolitan proportions, but has also maintained a most secure hold upon popular confidence and esteem in the city which has so long represented his home.

Mr. Burford was born in the village of In- dependence, Jackson County, Missouri, on the 18th of November, 1846, and is a son of Miles W. and N. J. (Burford) Burford, both of whom were born at Harrodsburg, Kentucky, representatives of old and honored families of that commonwealth and themselves dis- tantly related. They were reared and edu- cated in their native state and there their marriage was solemnized. In 1839 they re -. moved to Independence, Missouri, and there the father of William B. became a prominent and influential citizen and leading business man. He was one of the early bankers of Independence and gained high reputation and distinctive success as a financier. He was identified with banking interests also in Kan- sas City, St. Louis and other Missouri cities and he accumulated a substantial fortune through his own ability and efforts. He and his wife continued to maintain their home in Independence. Missouri, until 1870, when they came to Indianapolis, where they passed the remainder of their lives in the home of their son William B., to whom this sketch is dedicated, and who accorded to them in their declining days the utmost filial solici- tude. Both were zealous members of the Methodist Church. They became the parents of four sons and two daughters, of whom three sons and one daughter are now living, all having been reared to maturity in the old home town of Independence, Missouri.

To the schools of his native place, William B. Burford is indebted for his early edu- cational training, and later it was to be his privilege to receive that training which has been consistently said to be the equivalent of a liberal education-the discipline of a print- ing office. When fifteen years of age he came to Indianapolis, where he gained his first practical knowledge of the "art preservative of all arts". He here found employment in the job-printing establishment conducted by

his brother-in-law, the late William Braden, and he made rapid progress in his accumu- lation of technical knowledge and business methods. In the latter part of the year 1863, Mr. Burford returned to his home in Mis- souri, where he joined the provisional militia of the state, in connection with which he took an active part in the border warfare against the Confederate guerrillas. In 1864 he became corporal in a company of Missouri troops which, though not paid for their serv- ice by the national government but by the State of Missouri, did much effective service in restraining hostile demonstrations on the part of the guerrillas of southern sympathies, as well as in preventing Confederate raids and depredations.

After the close of the Civil War Mr. Bnr- ford entered college at Independence, Mis- souri, where he continued his studies for a period of two years and amply fortified him- self for entrance npon a business career des- tined to be one of marked activity and suc- cess. In 1867 he returned to Indianapolis, which city has ever since represented his home, as has it also been the scene of his earnest and fruitful efforts as a business man. Here he again entered the employ of his brother-in-law, Mr. Braden, by whom he was admitted to partnership in the business in 1870, whereupon the firm name of Braden & Burford was adopted. In 1875 Mr. Braden, after having met with financial reverses in other business enterprises with which he had been identified, sold his interest in the print- ing, engraving and stationery business to Mr. Burford. who has since continued the enter- prise without interruption and who has built. the same up to the best metropolitan standard in its line. At numbers 38 and 40 South Meridian street are located his offices and salesrooms, and on Pearl street, Numbers 17 to 23, inclusive, in rear of salesrooms, he has his finely equipped factory. His estab- lishment is locally as well known, practically, as that of the city itself, and the enterprise is one which stands to the credit of the greater city.

Mr. Burford has never been active in par- tisan politics, but this by no means implies that he has in any sense been neglectful of his civic duties. He is well fortified in his opinions as to matters of public polity and as a citizen none is more loyal and public- spirited. He is a member of the Indianapolis Board of Trade and the Commercial Club, and is also a member of the German House, a representative social organization of the cap- ital city. In the time-honored Masonic fra- ternity he has attained to the thirty-second

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degree in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite and is also enrolled as a member of Murat Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, besides being identified with the Knights of Pythias. Both he and his wife are members of the Meridian Street Methodist Episcopal Church and give a lib- eral co-operation and support in the various departments of its work.

In 1871, Mr. Burford was united in mar- riage to Miss Ella Hobbs, who was born and reared in Independence, Missouri, and who is a daughter of the late Dr. Samuel and J. R. Hobbs, of Independence. In conclu- sion of this sketch is entered brief record concerning the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Burford. Miles W., who for several years was associated actively with his father's busi- ness, much to the gratification and satisfac- tion of the latter, was finally compelled to sever this pleasing relationship on account of impaired health, and he now resides at Silver City, New Mexico, where he has valuable ranching interests. The second son, Ernest H., who was his father's valued assistant in the management of the business enterprise to which reference has been made, died in Au- gust, 1909. The youngest son, William Bur- ford, Jr., is now associated with his father in the business. Caroline is the wife of H. R. Danner, of New York City. Mr. Danner has associated himself with Mr. Burford in the business and will make his home in Indian- apolis.

JEFFERSON H. CLAYPOOL. It has been writ- ten that "few sons attain the praise of their great sires", but application of this statement cannot justly be made in the case of Jefferson H. Claypool, a sterling citizen of Indianapolis. of whose bar he is an able and honored mem- ber, for by his services he has lent dignity to the profession in which his father attained to distinction, and in connection with public af- fairs has he also well upheld the prestige of the name which he bears. He is essentially one of the representative members of the bar of his native state and has long been a power in the councils of the Republican party in this com- monwealth. Like his honored father, he has a character based on intrinsic integrity of pur- pose, and this has been shown with all of sig- nificance in both his professional life and in his loyal services as a citizen. He is a scion of one of the best known pioneer families of the Hoosier state, with whose annals the name has been prominently identified for nearly a century and in which he is a representative of the third generation, being the only survivor of the four children of Benjamin F. and Alice (Helm) Claypool.

Hon. Benjamin Franklin Claypool was born at Connersville, Fayette County, Indiana, on the 12th of December, 1825, and that now at- tractive little city continued to be his home until he was summoned to the life eternal, on the 11th of December, 1888, one day before the sixty-third anniversary of his birth. He held rank for many years as one of the ablest law- yers engaged in practice at the Indiana bar, was prominently identified with the organiza- tion of the Republican party, was a member of the senate of his native state during the cli- macterie period of the Civil War, was promi- nently identified with the early banking inter- ests of his state, being one of the directors of the Bank of the State of Indiana, and later president of the First National Bank of Con- nersville, of which he was one of the organ- izers in'1865 ; and during the later years of his career he found both solace and profit in agri- culture, having identified himself with that basic industry and the raising of fine cattle. He was a citizen of exalted character and one whose personality gained to him the implicit confidence and high regard of all with whom he came in contact.

Hon. Newton Claypool, father of Hon. Ben- jamin F. Claypool, was a native of the historic Old Dominion state, the family being of stanch English extraction and having been founded in Virginia in the colonial epoch. He was a man of liberal education, according to the standard of his day, and this strong intellectual power was coupled with mature judgment, so that he naturally became a leader in thought and action after establishing his home in Indiana, prior to its admission to the Union. As a youth he left his native state and made his way to Ross County, Ohio, where he remained until 1815, when he came to Indiana- and established his home in Fayette County, where he became one of the carly settlers of the little hamlet of Connersville, now one of the flourishing cities of the state .. He served several terms in the state legislature, as a member of both the house and senate, and he wielded much influ- ence in public affairs during the formative period of the history of this favored common- wealth.' He became the owner of large tracts of land in Fayette and other counties and con- tributed materially to both the civic and in- dustrial development of the state.

Hon. Benjamin F. Claypool gained his early education in the common schools of Conners- ville and supplemented this hv private instruc- tion under the tutorship of Professor Nutting, a prominent educator of the early days in In- diana. In the autumn of 1843 Mr. Claypool was matriculated in Asbury University, now De Pauw University. at Greencastle, Indiana.

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where he continued his studies until the spring of 1845, when he withdrew from the institu- tion, shortly before the graduation of the class of which he was a member. He forthwith began the study of law in the office and under the preceptorship of Hon. Oliver H. Smith, who was then the recognized leader of the In- dianapolis bar, and under such favorable aus- pices he thoroughly fortified himself in the science of jurisprudence. He was admitted to the bar in 1842, and soon afterward he began the active practice of his profession in his native town of Connersville. He soon rose to prominence in his profession, and until the day of his death he held precedence as one of the ablest lawyers of Indiana. Court rec- ords bear adequate evidence of his many foren- sic victories, and indicate his appearance in connection with much important litigation in the state and federal courts in Indiana.

Early in life Benjamin F. Claypool began to manifest a lively interest in political affairs, and he was originally aligned as a supporter of the cause of the Whig party. He was prom- inently concerned in effecting the national organization of the Republican party, and in 1856 was a delegate to the first national con- vention of the party, in Philadelphia, where that body nominated General John C. Fre- mont for the presidency. In 1864 he served as presidential elector from the Fifth con- gressional district of Indiana, and in 1868 he was one of the electors at large, canvassing the entire state of Indiana in the interests of the Republican party. In 1860 he was elected to represent, in the state senate, the district composed of the counties of Fayette and Union, and as a member of the upper house of the legislature he was one of the leaders of that body and one of the most loyal and vigorous supporters of the Union. He was an able advocate at the bar, of strong dialectic powers, an eloquent speaker, and a man of great ver- satility of genius. He was ever well fortified in his convictions and absolute sincerity and honor characterized him in all the relations of a life of signal integrity and usefulness. Intrinsic nobility indicated the man as he was, and his name shall have an enduring place in the civic history of his native state and especially in connection with the annals of its bar, whose standard has ever been high.

In 1874 Benjamin F. Claypool was made the candidate of his party for representative of the Fifth district of Indiana in Congress, and though he made a brilliant campaign in an effort to overcome the Democratic tidal wave that swept over Indiana in that year, causing defeat in most of the Republican Congressional districts, he met with defeat which he had

fully anticipated. While he never thereafter appeared as a candidate for public office, he never wavered in his allegiance to the "grand old party", of whose principles and policies he continued an ardent and effective exponent until the close of his life. In the year 1853 was solemnized his marriage to Miss Alice Helm, who was likewise born and reared in Indiana and who was a daughter of Dr. Jeffer- son Helm, of Rushville, Indiana, one of the representative physicians and financiers of that part of the state. She was a woman of culti- vation and most gracious presence, and her counsel and sympathy contributed much to the success of her husband, as their married life was ideal in all its relations. Mrs. Claypool was summoned to eternal rest in 1882, and, as already stated, their only surviving child is .Jefferson H.

Jefferson Helm Claypool was born at Con- nersville, Fayette County, Indiana, on the 15th of August, 1856, and there he was reared to years of maturity, in the meanwhile duly avail- ing himself of the advantages of the public and private schools and having also the gracious influences of a home of distinctive culture and refinement. In 1870 he was matriculated in Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio, in which institution he continued his academic studies for four years. Thereafter he attended the his- torie old University of Virginia, at Charlottes- ville, for one year, after which he returned to his native city and began reading law under the able preceptorship of his honored father. He gave two years to careful study and then, in 1877, was admitted to the bar. He forth- with became associated with his father in prac- tice, and this mutually gratifying alliance con- tinued until the close of the father's life. The son did not remain in the shadow of his fath- er's professional greatness but soon proved his mettle as one thoroughly well equipped for successful effort at the bar. As an advocate he has well upheld the honors of the family name, and few members of the bar of the state are more admirably fortified as counselors, as he has ever been a close student and has a broad and exact knowledge of the law and of precedent. While he was associated with his father the firm of B. F. Claypool & Son re- tained an extensive and lucrative practice, and he was thus afforded a wide range of profes- sional experience and an opportunity to form an extensive acquaintanceship with leading men in his profession and in public life.

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Greater Indianapolis : the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes, Part 15

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