Greater Indianapolis : the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes, Part 28

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 28

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).

Of stanch Scotch-Irish stock, Robert Green McClure is of a family which was founded in the south in the colonial period of the country. He himself is a native of Lewis- burg, Marshall County, Tennessee, born on the 29th of May, 1862, and is a son of Dr. Robert G. and Mary Elizabeth (Ewing) Mc- Clure. His father was born at Greenville, that state, and divided the labors of his life between his medical practice and his agricul- tural pursuits. He served his country as an officer in the Mexican War. While of south- ern birth and ancestry, he was earnestly op- posed to disunion and used every effort to influence his community against secession, But when hostilities were actually commenced he was precipitated into the conflict and served with distinction as lieutenant colonel of the Forty-first Tennessee Regiment. In 1881 he died at Lewisburg, being fifty-seven vears of age, and a recognized public charac-

ter of pronounced ability and unquestioned integrity. Colonel McClure was one of the promoters and first president of the Duck River Valley Railroad, now a branch of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, running from Columbia to Decherd, Tennessee, and was prominent in all the public, professional and religious affairs of his community. Both he and his wife were zealous members of the Presbyterian Church, in which he was an elder for a quarter of a century. His mother, Mrs. Robert G. McClure, was born in Mar- shall County, Tennessee, October 2, 1828, and died at Anniston, Alabama, November 20, 1906, while on a visit to her daughter, Mrs. John B. Knox. She was a daughter of Lyle A. Ewing, an extensive and influential land owner of Marshall County, who had migrated from Virginia, the ancestral state. A womau of culture and gracious manners, active in social, intellectual and religious affairs, she invariably left the impress of gentle and no- ble womanhood. One of her brothers and one of her sons are clergymen of the Presby- terian Church, with which the family has been identified for generations.

Robert G. McClure, of this biography, re- ceived a public-school and a high-school edu- cation in his native town and in 1879 was a student in the University of Mississippi. The following two years he attended the South- western Presbyterian University at Clarks- ville, Tennessee, but was then obliged to withdraw because of a nervous collapse from which he did not recuperate for some time. Mr. McClure had already demonstrated his business inclinations and talents in various boyish and youthful enterprises, having had a taste of printing and the life of a railroad newsboy (on passenger trains between St. Louis and Indianapolis) ; but his first seri- ous business employment was in 1882-4, when he was bookkeeper for the Jesse French Mu- sic Company, of Nashville, Tennessee. For the ensuing two years he was a piano sales- man, traveling out of the same city for R. Dorman and Company, and in 1886 went to Kansas City, Missouri, where six months aft- er his arrival, he became bookkeeper for the Bank of Commerce, retaining the position for two years.

In the summer of 1889 Mr. McClure ac- cepted a position with the Standard Oil Com- pany as its salesman for northern Missouri, with headquarters in Kansas City. While "holding down" this position with his usual energy and business finesse, he secured three successive prizes offered by the company for the best percentage of increased sales, being in the running with twelve competitors. In

774

HISTORY OF GREATER INDIANAPOLIS.

1891 the Standard appointed him special salesman for the territory comprising Mis- souri and Kansas, and in 1893 he became aud- itor for the same territory. In 1894 he was transferred to New Orleans as assistant man- ager of the company at that point, but after a year resigned that position and left the employ of the great corporation with the hearty appreciation and the best wishes of its entire management. In the meantime Mr. McClure had read law at various intervals, and in 1895 received a certificate of admis- sion to the bar from the supreme court of Tennessee, after which he engaged in prac- tice at his native town until the summer of 1897. At that time he again identified hin- self with the oil business by becoming a stockholder in the National Refining. Com- pany, of Cleveland, Ohio, being elected sec- retary and treasurer of its Indiana branch- the Indiana oil-tank line, with headquarters in Indianapolis. Under his administration of these vital executive offices the business of the company increased seventy per cent from 1897 to 1904, and in the summer of the lat- ter year he sold his interests in the Indiana oil-tank line, with a view of organizing an oil, paint and supply business on a larger scale. It should be added that from 1902 to 1904 he was also president and about one- fourth owner of the American Oil and Re- fining Company, producers of oil, coal and gas in Kentucky fields. In 1896-7 he was owner and publisher of a newspaper in Nash- ville, Tennessee, and at the same time was senior partner of the firm of MeClure and Ferguson, insurance and loan agents of that city. At the present time, besides being ac- tively engaged in the work of the secretary- ship of the Indianapolis Commercial Club, he is the owner of interests in copper and lead mines in Arizona, is a stockholder in various Indianapolis industrial corporations, has considerable real estate investments in the city, and has a beautiful residence at No. 1820 North Delaware street. He has been a member of the Commercial Club since 1902; served as a director and chairman of the House committee in 1904 and was elected secretary in the same year. He represented the club at the banquet of the Greater Des Moines (Iowa) committee in November, 1906, and at this gathering, which was attended by officers of the Commercial clubs of Minne- apolis and Denver, he delivered an effective address in which he apparently demonstrated to the citizens of the Iowa city that it was to their vital interests, if they wished to be in the van of municipal progress, to secure a new city charter based largely on that of In-

dianapolis; for it is certain that Des Moines subsequently adopted a new system of city government patterned after the strong points of the Indianapolis and Galveston charters. Since he has been secretary of this great civic power, its membership has increased from 840 to 1,800. In politics Mr. McClure has sup- ported the principles of the Republican party from the time he was able to vote, and even before, and since residing in Indianapolis has served for many years on the city com- mittee of his party, and has otherwise been of stanch service to the cause.

On January 2, 1884, Mr. McClure was mar- ried at the Madison Presbyterian Church, near Nashville, to Miss Locke J. Bradford, daughter of George and Narcissa (Brown) Bradford, of that city. Mr. Bradford was of the well-known Massachusetts family and a representative member of the bar, while his wife was a daughter of the late Colonel Lu- cien Brown, who served with great credit iu the war with Mexico and in the Confederacy and was of old southern ancestry. Mr. and Mrs. McClure became the parents of two chil- dren, as follows: One who died in infancy, and Robert L., who was born April 10, 1894, and is a student at the Shortridge high school, Indianapolis. Mr. McClure's connection with religious and fraternal affairs has already. been noted and in further explanation of these phases of his career the facts which follow are adduced. When sixteen years of age he became a member of the Good Tem- plars and in 1887, when twenty-five, united with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In 1903 he became affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, in which he has completed the cir- cle of both the York and Scottish rites; in the latter he has attained to the thirty-second ·degree; is a Mystic Shriner and (1909) Wor- shipful Master of Ancient Landmarks Lodge No. 319, A. F. and A. M. At Indianapolis, he has also been identified with the Marion Club since 1897, the German House since 1908, and the Board of Trade, and a member of the Knights of Pythias, Indianapolis Lodge No. 56, for many years. His greatest activity in church and Sunday school work was during the twenty years prior to be- coming a resident of Indianapolis. In 1896 he was vice president of the Tennessee State Sunday School Association (interdenomina- tional) and at different times he has lectured and conducted other public work in this di- rection.

ELI F. RITTER. A representative member of the bar of his native state and one who went forth to honor this commonwealth through his able services as a valiant soldier

775

ILISTORY OF GREATER INDIANAPOLIS.

of the Union, Colonel Eli F. Ritter has long controlled a large practice in the capital city of Indiana, where he has ever commanded un- equivocal confidence and esteem as a man of sterling attributes of character and as a citi- zent of insistent loyalty and public spirit.

Eli F. Ritter was born on the parental homestead farm in Gilford Township, Hen- dricks County, Indiana, on the 18th of June, 1838. and is a scion of one of the honored pioneer families of the state. His ancestors were members of the Society of Friends and from North Carolina came the original repre- sentatives in Indiana, where settlement was made by them. He is a son of James and Rachel (Jessup) Ritter, both of whom were born in North Carolina, where they passed their early lives and where the father fol- lowed the vocation of farining, coming to Hendricks County, Indiana, about 1822. Both were residents of Hendricks County at the time of their death, and to them was accorded the high regard of all who knew them. They held membership, by birthright, in the So- ciety of Friends, and in politics the father was originally a Whig and later a Republi- can. He died in 1859, and his wife was sum- moned to the life eternal in 1874. They be- came the parents of four sons and three daughters and of the number one son and one of the daughters are now living, the subject of this sketch being the youngest son.

To the cominon schools of his native coun- ty Colonel Ritter is indebted for his early ed- ucational discipline, which was supplemented by a course in DePauw University, then known as Asbury University, in which insti- tution he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts as a member of the class of 1866, but was dated back to class of 1863, as he was in the army. He then took up the study of law, to which he devoted his atten- tion until he felt the call of higher duty, when the integrity of the nation was thrown into jeopardy through armed rebellion. On the 14th of April, 1861, he enlisted as a pri- vate in Company K, Sixteenth Indiana Vol- unteer Infantry, and he continued in active service until the close of the war, having re- ceived his honorable discharge on the 6th of June, 1865. From his original command he was transferred to Seventy-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which was a part of the Army of the Cumberland, and with this reg- iment the major part of his service was given. He was made adjutant in this regiment and with it participated in many of the import- ant battles marking the progress of the great internecine conflict. Among these may be mentioned Stone's River, Chickamauga, Mis-

sionary Ridge, Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, New Hope Church, Kenesaw Mountain, the siege and battle of Atlanta, Lovejoy Station, and Franklin and Nashville, Tennessee. Be- fore the expiration of the war he was ad- vanced to the office of major of his regiment, and in the same his record was one of signal gallantry and able discipline. In 1883, upon the organization of the Indiana National Guard, Governor Porter appointed him col- onel of the First Regiment, and he retained this incumbency for a period of three years, at the expiration of which he retired from ac- tive work in the organization.

After the close of the war Colonel Ritter resumed the study of law, and in the spring of 1866 he was duly admitted to the bar of his native state, whereupon he engaged in the general practice of his profession in Indian- apolis, of whose bar he has been an honored member for more than forty years-years marked by large and definite accomplishment in the work of his chosen vocation. He has retained a large and representative clientage and has been identified with much important litigation in both State and Federal courts. He is a strong trial lawyer, making a close study of every cause presented and marshal- ing his evidence with great skill and versa- tility of expedient. His thorough and broad knowledge of the science of jurisprudence has also made him a specially effective factor as a counselor. It should be noted in this connection that Colonel Ritter has, almost from the initiation of his professional career, taken a strong stand in bringing abont the proper regulation of the liquor traffic, of which he is an implacable adversary. He has secured many important court decisions in both the lower and higher courts as touching this important matter, and his zeal and en- thusiasm have been of the most insistent type. Colonel Ritter is the author of a book that has attracted wide and favorable attention. It has to do with a consideration of the cor- relation of the moral and civil law, and in a masterly way carried forward the argument that social morality is the fundamental prin- ciple of the common law and all statute law, and that no law can be sustained that lacks this foundation. The title of this admirable work is Moral Law and Civil Law, Parts of the Same Thing.

In politics, while never a seeker for the honors or emoluments of public office, Col- onel Ritter has ever been arrayed as a stal- wart in the camp of the Republican party, though independent, and he has rendered ef- fective service in behalf of its.canse. He and his wife hold membership in the Methodist

776

HISTORY OF GREATER INDIANAPOLIS.

Episcopal Church, and he is a member of George H. Thomas Post, Grand Army of the Republic. His vital interest in his old con- rades in arms is further shown in the able service he has accorded as a member of the board of trustees of the Indiana Soldiers' Home, with which he was identified in this capacity since 1903, his second term having expired February, 1909.

On the 13th of July, 1863, was solemnized the marriage of Colonel Ritter to Miss Narcie Lockwood, who was born in Paris, Kentucky, and who is a daughter of Benjamin and Rebecca (Smith) Lockwood, who passed the closing years of their lives at Indianapolis with Mrs. Ritter. Colonel and Mrs. Ritter have three sons and two daughters living, one son being deceased. They are as follows: Halsted L., a Denver, Colorado, attorney ; Herman B., who died at the age of twenty- one; Roscoe H .. a physician in Indianapolis; Mary B., married Chas. A. Beard, of New York City; Dwight S., a manufacturer in Columbus, Ohio; and Ruth, wife of Edgar V. McDaniel, of Parma, Missouri.

JOSEPH KINNE SHARPE, JR., represents one of the earliest as well as one of the most prom- inent families to be identified with the his- tory of Indianapolis-his birthplace, on the 21st of September, 1853. He is a son of the late Joseph Kinne Sharpe and Mary Ellen Graydon Sharpe and a grandson on the ma- ternal side of Alexander Graydon, who came to Indianapolis in 1839 from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he had been engaged in business. Mr. Graydon was born in 1775; was a soldier in the War of 1812, and died in the early seventies. His wife was Jane McKinney, and both families are prominent in the history of Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Graydon were leading citizens in Har- risburg, Pennsylvania. They were first among the abolitionists and their ancestors were noted in the War for Independence. Joseph Kinnie Sharpe, Sr., was born in Pom- fret, Connecticut, in 1819. He was the son of Abishai Sharpe and Hannah Trowbridge Sharpe. His family connection embraces many of the leading families of New Eng- land, the Trowbridge, Grosvenor, Farrington, Goodalls and others-all prominent in their professions and business. Mr. Sharpe's an- cestors were all patriots in the Revolutionary War. - He was the youngest of seven brothers, and came west in his very early manhood. He taught school in Ohio for several years and then came to Indianapolis in 1845, where he embarked in business-the wholesale leath- er-and was owner of several tanneries. He later became greatly interested in real estate

and owned much valuable property in the residence and business parts of Indianapolis, as well as large farms throughout the state and adjacent to the capital city. Some of the fine additions to the city are a result of his judgment and foresight. He was a man of fine personal appearance and of magnetic manners and was known for his many benevo- lences. He belonged to the fraternal order of Odd Fellows, and was a member of the Second Presbyterian Church, over which Henry Ward Beecher then presided. In fact, Mr. Sharpe was married to Mary Ellen Graydon in 1849 by that able divine, who ac- companied the young couple on their wed- ding journey to New England. Both Mr. and Mrs. Sharpe were members of the choir in the Second Presbyterian Church and were noted for their beautiful voices. Mrs. Sharpe, who is still living, was, during her earlier life, a leading musician of Indianapolis, hav- ing had fine training in her school in Phila- delphia. She was not only a high class mu- sician both of the piano and as a singer, but was a writer of ability. While yet a girl she was an assistant editor of the Locomotive, a prominent periodical during the early history of Indianapolis, and for many years was a constant contributor to our leading maga- zines. She is specially known for her religious poems, and for her stories and verses for children that have appeared in the St. Nich- olas magazine. and others. In 1909, Mrs. Sharpe, then past her four-score years, wrote and had published A Family Retrospect, a history of her family from their settlement in Philadelphia in 1708 to the present time. As her ancestors are closely identified with the history of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, it is a book that has much historical as well as literary value. Mrs. Sharpe is still living in Indianapolis; her husband died in 1900. Nine children were born of this union, but only the following four are now living: Mary Ella, wife of Robert P. Duncan; Joseph Kinne, Julia Graydon and Anna Trowbridge. One of the interesting incidents in the ear- lier life of Mr. and Mrs. Sharpe was their overland trip to Madison, Indiana, to hear the famous Jenny Lind sing. This was during the renowned singer's first visit to America and she sang in a barn in that city.

Joseph Kinne Sharpe, Jr., received his edu- cation in the schools and old Academy in In- dianapolis and at Wabash College, and fol- lowing his college days he engaged in busi- ness with his father, later succeeding him in the wholesale leather trade. In 1891 he went out of it to become the secretary and treasurer of the Indianapolis Manufacturing Company

HISTORY OF GREATER INDIANAPOLIS.

and in 1908 was made the president of this association. Mr. Sharpe has been most suc- cessful in business, as he is enterprising, de- voted and broad-minded. His benevolences are many, and his generosity is proverbial. He is an ideal friend and one who is never appealed to in vain. He is one of the promi- nent men in business and social circles of the city; a member of the Commercial Club, the University, Columbia and Country Clubs, the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, the Art Associa- tion and other associations of civic and per- sonal interest. He is also a thirty-second de- gree Mason, belonging to Oriental Lodge, No. 500. F. & A. M .; Keystone Chapter, No. 6, R. A. M .; Raper Commandery, No. 1, K. T .; Indianapolis Council, No. 2, R. and S. M .; Indiana Consistory, S. P. R. S., and Murat Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. His politics are Republican.

Mr. Sharpe married Alberta S. Johnson in 1891. She was born in Athens, Ohio, a daughter of Dr. William P. and Julia ( Blackstone) Johnson, both of whom were na- tives of Ohio. Dr. Johnson was a surgeon in the Civil War and was later associated with Dr. Allen's Surgical Institute in Indianap- olis. Mrs. Sharpe is now the surviving mem- ber of their family of seven children. A daughter, Josephine P., has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Sharpe.

BERNARD J. T. JEUP. As a civil engineer Bernard J. T. Jeup has attained to high pro- fessional snecess and prestige, having been identified with much important work in the line of the vocation for which he has so admir- ably equipped himself, and his services in connection with municipal improvements in Indianapolis have been of great value. He was formerly incumbent of the office of city engineer, and in this position he made a rec- ord unexcelled by that of any other incum- bent of the same. He is essentially one of the loyal, progressive and public-spirited citi- zens of the Indiana capital and is known as one of its reliable and representative business men. In the work of his profession he is as- sociated with A. H. Moore, under the firm name of Jeup & Moore, with offices in the Indiana Trust Building.

Mr. Jeup is a native of the city of Cincin- nati, Ohio, where he was born on the 17th of August, 1864, and he is a son of John B. and Anna G. (Wirtz) Jeup, both of whom were born and reared in Germany, being repre- sentatives of old and honored families of the great empire. John B. Jeup was a man of distinguished ability and high intellectuality, and for many years he was prominently identified with newspaper work, in connection

with which he held various editorial posí- tions of importance. He removed from Cin- cinnati to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1871, and there he continued his residence for a period of seven years, at the expiration of which he returned to Cincinnati, where he contin- ued to maintain his home for about seven years. He then removed to Brooklyn, New York, where . he continued to reside until 1893, when he came to Indianapolis, where both he and his devoted wife passed the residue of their lives. He was at one time editor and publisher of the Cin- cinnati Volksfreund, and while a resident of Brooklyn he was political editor of the New York Staatszeitung, a Democratic daily. On coming to Indianapolis he became editor and part owner of the Telegraph, a German weekly paper, and while residing in Nash- ville, Tennessee, he was likewise engaged in editorial work. He was also elected a mem+ ber of the lower house of the Tennessee leg- islature, in which he served one term. He maintained his home in Indianapolis about fifteen years and here his death occurred in 1907, at which time he was seventy-nine years of age. He was a prolific and versatile writer, and in his editorial work he gained much distinction, especially in his considera- tion of matters of public and general politi- cal import. His wife preceded him to eternal rest by several years, her death oc- eurring in 1900. He was a stanch Democrat in his political affiliation and both he and his wife were zealous members of the Catholic Church. Of their seven children, three are now living.

Bernard J. T. Jeup was seven years of age at the time of the family removal from Cincinnati to Nashville, where he continued to attend the public schools until the family returned to Cincinnati, about seven years later. In the latter city he completed the cur- riculum of the Woodward high school, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1883. For a year thereafter he con- tinned his studies in the University of Cin- cinnati, and he was then matriculated in Co- lumbia University, New York City, in which historie old institution he completed the pre- scribed course in civil engineering and was graduated in 1887, with the degree of civil engineer. He has since given his attention to the work of his profession and has achieved in the same unqualified success and marked precedence. For several years after leaving the university he was employed in connection with the work of the board of health of New York City, in which connection he was iden- tified with the construction of sewerage lines.

778

HISTORY OF GREATER INDIANAPOLIS.

He came to Indianapolis in 1892 and here es- tablished himself in the work of his profes- sion, and in 1893 he was appointed assistant city engineer, under the administration of Mayor Thomas L. Sullivan. He retained this position also during the mayoralty of Caleb S. Denny, and thercafter served for six years as city engineer under the administration of Mayor Thomas Taggart and two years during the regime of John W. Holtzman as chief executive of the municipal government. Dur- ing his long period of service in connection with the office of city engineer Mr. Jeup car- ried out most effectively the improving of the sewerage system of Indianapolis, under the plans outlined by Rudolph Hering, the able consulting engineer appointed by Mayor Sul- livan. Mr. Jeup was a member of the com- mission appointed to appraise the value of the tangible property of the Indianapolis Water Company and made recommendation that the city purchase the property. Had this advice of the commission been followed the city would undoubtedly be the owner of its own water system to-day and in control of a service that would prove a source of profit to the city and at the same time best conserve the demands of the general consumer. Later Mr. Jeup was associated with George W. Fuller and Dr. C. E. Ferguson as a member of the commission appointed by the city to investigate both the quantity and quality of the physical property of the Indianapolis Water Company, with a view to effecting im- provements in the distributing service and the quality of the water supplied. The rec- ommendations of this commission are now be- ing followed by the water company in the expanding and improving of its system ac- cording to the demands placed upon it. These brief statements indicate that Mr. Jeup has been a valuable agent in connection with the directing and regulating of the engineering department of the municipal government of the capital city, and it is largely due to his zealous and able efforts that the water sup- ply of the city is maintained at its present high standard. He caused a fire station to be established to show the water pressure. He has also done much to make possible the se- curing to the city the elevation of railroad tracks at street crossings within the munici- pal limits, and he has also given most zealous aid in providing the city with effective gas service at reasonable terms. His efforts in this connection are a matter of record and have been duly appreciated and commended by the leading business men and general pub- lie in Indianapolis. In the private work of his profession he has been equally successful and

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.

Greater Indianapolis : the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes, Part 28

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