USA > Indiana > Marion County > Indianapolis > Greater Indianapolis : the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes > Part 44
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Dr. Knabe secured her earlier educational discipline in the public school of her native place and later received instruction under private tutors. After coming to Indianapolis she continued her studies for a time in Butler College, at Irvington, and also took a course in the Indianapolis Business University. On the 22d of September, 1900, Dr. Knabe was matriculated in the Medical College of In- diana, and in her sophomore year she began the study of pathology under the direction of Dr. Frank B. Wynn. She devoted all of her
Helene Rualis M. D.
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spare hours to this particular branch of study, being encouraged in her efforts by her able preceptor, and in the beginning of the fall term of 1902, after having done a great deal of work in advanced pathology, in the office of Dr. Wynn, she was appointed curator of the pathological museum of the college. This position she continued to hold until her graduation, on the 22d of April, 1904, having thus assisted in teaching pathology in her alma mater for two years prior to receiving her well earned degree of Doctor of Medicine.
On the 1st of May, 1904, immediately fol- lowing her graduation, Dr. Knabe was ap- pointed supervisor of the laboratories of the Medical College of Indiana, and this also in- volved assuming charge of the clinical labora- tory of the Bobbs Free Dispensary. Of this responsible position she continued in tenure until September 30, 1905. On the 1st of the following month she accepted the position of assistant pathologist at the Indiana State Laboratory of Hygiene, having previously re- ceived her first commission as deputy state health officer. This preferment was granted in August, 1905, and she is the only woman in the state who has ever held the office. For the first three months, as no separate room had as yet been set apart for the laboratory, she prosecuted her work in the private office of Dr. J. N. Hurty, secretary of the state .board of health. Her laboratory equipment during this interval consisted of a table two by three feet in dimension, a small staining case and a microscope. Even under these primitive conditions she examined about one hundred and fifty specimens, mostly diph- theria cultures. This was the first work done in the newly established bacteriological divi- sion of the state laboratory of hygiene. On October 7, 1907, Dr. Knabe was placed in charge of the State Laboratory of Hygiene with the title of "Acting Superintendent" and remained in that position until December 1, 1908. She has been state secretary for In- diana, of the Public Health Educational Committee, American Medical Association, since July, 1909. In the Normal College of the North American Gymnastic Union Dr. Knabe has been Associate Professor of Physi- ology and Hygiene since April, 1910. The official reports of the investigation of epi- demies. etc., made by Dr. Knabe during her term of service in the employ of the state are to be found in the official and published records of the transactions of the state board of health for the years 1906, 1907 and 1908. On the 1st of December, 1908, Dr. Knabe re- tired from the office in which she had given so effective service and since that time she
has been engaged in the general practice of her profession, with offices at 406 Board of Trade building.
In connection with her special lines of work it is worthy of note that, in July, 1906, Dr. Knabe learned the method of rapid diagnosis of rabies, having received instruction directly from Dr. Anna Wesley Williams, of the New York Research Laboratory, who was the origi- nator of this method. 'The system, effective above all previous methods, was introduced in Indiana by Dr. Knabe,-at least there is no record concerning the utilization of the same previously by anyone in the state. Thereafter the heads of dogs suspected of rabies were accepted at the state laboratory of hygiene and by her examination of the same Dr. Knabe proved, by scientific methods, the widespread existence of this infectious disease in the state of Indiana.
Utilizing her marked skill as an artist, Dr. Knabe has assisted in the illustration of the following named works: "Physiological and Clinical Chemistry," by Dr. John F. Geis (1903) : "Diseases of the Ear, Nose and Throat." by Dr. John J. Kyle (1906) ; "Emergency Surgery," by Dr. John Sluss (1909) : "Life and Health," an elementary work on physiology, by Dr. John N. Hurty (1906). Aside from these many of her illus- trations, especially in the line of pathological drawings, have been published in leading medical journals. The doctor was assistant in physical diagnosis in the Medical College of Indiana in 1906, and since 1907 she has served in a similar capacity at the Bobbs Free Dispensary, in both of which positions she has been the appreciative and valued assistant of her former preceptor, Dr. Wynn. On the 1st of January, 1909. Dr. Knabe was elected a member of the faculty of the Indiana Vet- erinary College, in which institution she has since ably and acceptably occupied the chair of parasitology and hematology. She is the only woman in the United States and Canada to hold a position on the faculty of a veteri- nary college. While not specializing in the work of her profession the doctor has given considerable attention to the administration of the Pasteur treatments for the prevention of hydrophobia in persons infected through the bites of rabid animals.
Dr. Knabe was a member of the Sydenham Society of the Medical College of Indiana and was its secretary during the winter term of 1902-3. She is identified with the American Medical Association, the Indiana State Med- ical Society and the Indianapolis Medical So- ciety, and since May. 1909, she has held mem- bership in the women's medical fraternity
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known as the Nu Sigma Phi. She holds mem- bership in the Young Women's Christian As- sociation of Indianapolis and is affiliated with Washington Lodge No. 1352, Knights and Ladies of Honor.
The foregoing outline indicates that Dr. Knabe is an enthusiast in her profession and also that she is indefatigable in her devotion to its work, but she does not deny herself social relaxations and pleasures and is held in high esteem in the city of her adoption, not only as an able member of her profession but also as a woman of gracious personality and high intellectual attainments.
WALTER F. KELLY, M. D. An able and popular representative of the medical pro- fession in Indianapolis is Dr. Walter F. Kelly, who has here maintained his home for the past eleven years and who has here been engaged in the successful practice of his pro- fession since 1906, being recognized as a skilled physician and surgeon and as one ad- mirably fortified for the exacting duties of his humane and responsible vocation.
Dr. Kelly was born at Bradford, Essex County, Massachusetts, on the 13th of Jan- uary, 1874, and is a son of George L. and Katherine M. (Dusey) Kelly, the former of whom was born at Salem, New Hampshire, of English ancestry, and the latter was of Irish extraction and a native of the province of Ontario, Canada. The father was a suc- cessful farmer and business man and both he and his wife passed the closing years of their lives in Bradford, Massachusetts.
To the public schools of his native city Dr. Kelly is indebted for his early educational discipline, which included the curriculum of the high school, in which he was graduated in 1893. He then entered historic old Dart- mouth College, New Hampshire, in which in- stitution he completed the prescribed course and was graduated as a member of the class of 1897, with the degree of Bachelor of Let- ters. While in college he was specially prom- iment in athletic affairs, and after leaving the saine he devoted several years to ef- fective athletic and gymnastic work, princi- pally as an instructor and coach. He came to Indianapolis in 1899 and finally he was matriculated in the Indiana Medical College, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1906 and from which he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He has since been engaged in active general practice in this city and has built up a substantial professional business, based alike upon his distinctive ability and his personal popular- ity. He is a member of the Indianapolis Medical Society, and also of the Indiana
State Medical Society. In his home city he is identified with various civic and fraternal organizations of representative order, his po- litical allegiance is given to the Democratic party, and both he and his wife are members of the Irvington Presbyterian Church.
On the 12th of September, 1901, Dr. Kelly was united in marriage to Miss Mary Drury, who was born and reared in Bradford. Massa- chusetts, and who is a daughter of Levi A. Drury, a well known citizen of that place. The doctor and his wife have one child, Frances Katherine, born June 20, 1907.
THEODORE PORTTEUS. One of the able and popular officials of Marion County is Theo- dore Portteus, who is giving most effective service in the position of chief deputy sheriff. He is a native of the fine old Hoosier com- monwealth, as he was born in Franklin Coun- ty, this state, on the 24th of July, 1859, and he is a son of Anson and Melissa Portteus, both of whom are now residing at Marion, Indiana. In 1862 his parents removed to Marion County, where they continued to re- side until 1875, when they removed to Ben- ton County, where he was reared to maturity and where he was afforded the advantages of the public schools. In that county Mr. Portteus followed various vocations until 1889, when he came to Indianapolis, where he has since maintained his home. He was a successful traveling salesman for a number of years and continued to be identified with this line of work until July, 1908, when he retired to give his attention to a dry-goods, notion and furnishing store which he had es- tablished in Irvington, Indianapolis, in 1904, and of which he is still the owner.
In politics Mr. Portteus has ever been ar- rayed as a stanch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, and he has been ac- tive as a worker in its ranks. In 1905 he was elected to represent the ninth ward in the city council, and on the 1st of January, 1909, he was appointed chief deputy sheriff of the county, under Jacob Woessuer, the able incumbent of the office of sheriff. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, being a member of Irvington Lodge, No. 666. Free and Accepted Masons, and is also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias.
In 1879 Mr. Portteus was united in mar- riage to Miss Ida G. Woodington, who was born and reared in Cass County, Indiana, and they have four children.
CHARLES F. HURST. It is one of the con- sonant functions of this publication to enter record concerning the various officials of Marion County and the City of Indianapolis,
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and in this connection consideration of this order is given to Charles F. Hurst, who is the efficient chief deputy clerk of Marion County, and whose personal popularity in the capital city is of the most unequivocal order.
Mr. Hurst was born in the village of Leb- anon, Boone County, Indiana, on the 18th of September, 1869, and is a son of Landy and Evaline (Edwards) Hurst, the former of whom was born in Rush County, this state, September 5, 1837, and the latter in Greens- boro, North Carolina. The parents are now living and the vocation of the father has been that of farmer. Rev. Emmons Hurst, the paternal grandfather of Charles F. Hurst, was one of the pioneer clergymen of the Baptist Church in Indiana, as was also his father, Rev. Landy Hurst, who was a native of Virginia and of English extraction, and who came to Indiana about the middle of the second decade of the nineteenth cen- tury. Both of the honored ancestors were men of ability and consecrated zeal and were prominent and influential in the work of their church in Indiana. Rev. Landy Hurst became one of the early settlers of Rush County, where he continued to maintain his home until his death.
Charles F. Hurst gained his rudimentary education in the public schools of Boone County, and when he was about nine years of age his parents removed thence to Rush County, where he was reared to maturity on the home farm and where he continued his studies in the public schools. He completed a course in the high school at Rushville and supplemented this discipline by study under private instruction. In 1895 Mr. Hurst took up his residence in Indianapolis, where he became a salesman for the D. M. Parry Man- ufacturing Company, makers of carriages and other vehicles. He continued in the em- ploy of this concern about four years and for the ensuing two years was in the employ of the Indianapolis City Street Railway Com- pany. For nearly a year thereafter he was employed by Samuel Duncan, in the cream- ery business, and he then became clerk of the Superior Court of Marion County, hold- ing this office four years under the regime of Judge James M. Leathers. On the 1st of January, 1907, he entered upon the du- ties of his present office, that of chief dep- uty county clerk, and his continuous reten- tion of the position offers the most effective voucher for his ability and for the effective and courteous service he has accorded.
In politics Mr. Hurst is aligned as a stal- wart in the camp of the Republican party,
and he has rendered voeman service in the cause. He is a Master Mason, is also affil- iated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, and he holds membership in the Commercial Club and the local Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation.
In 1895 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hurst to Miss Louise Neu, who was born in New York City and whose parents were natives of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Hurst have two children-Gladys and Emma.
WILLIAM T. PATTEN. A number of the na- tive sons of Indiana are found in offices of distinctive trust and responsibility in connec- tion with the governmental service of Mar- ion County, and of this number is Mr. Pat- ten, who is chief deputy auditor of the coun- ty and who is known as a capable and pop- ular official.
Mr. Patten was born on the homestead farm of his parents, in Hamilton Township, Sullivan County, Indiana, and the date of his nativity was August 10, 1867. He is a son of George W. and Martha J. Patten, the former of whom died in 1872, both having been born and reared in Indiana. George W. Patten was a soldier of the Union in the Civil War, having been a member of one of the early volunteer regiments from Indiana. His war service left him in permanently im- paired health and he died when his son, of this review, was but five years of age. George W. was a son of Joshua T. Patten, who was an officer in an Indiana regiment in the War of the Rebellion, from Sullivan County, where he was a pioneer settler. Five of his sons were enrolled as soldiers in the great conflict through which the integrity of the nation was perpetuated. One of his sons, Capt. James B. Patten, ex-warden of Indiana Prison South at Jeffersonville, for ten years, was a scout for sixteen months in the "Famous Wilders Brigade", and he afterwards served two terms as a member of the state legislature. The son George W., father of William T., was but nineteen years of age at the time of his enlistment.
William T. Patten was reared to manhood in his native county, and its public schools afforded him his early educational discipline, which included a course in the high school at Sullivan, Indiana. After teaching for two years in the district schools he was matricu- lated in the University of Indiana, at Bloom- ington and was graduated as a member of the class of 1893, with the degree of Bache- lor of Arts. Through his own exertions he defrayed the expenses of his collegiate train- ing and after his graduation he came to In-
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dianapolis, where he has since maintained his home, being engaged in the real estate busi- ness.
On the 1st of January, 1908, he was ap- pointed to his present office of chief deputy county auditor and his effective labors in the same have added materially in facili- tating the work of the office, while meet- ing with marked popular and executive ap- proval. He has been a stalwart worker in the ranks of the Democratic party from the time of attaining his legal majority and is well fortified in his opinions as to matters of political import and exigency. He was the candidate of his party for the office of County Clerk in 1906, but. met defeat with the rest of the ticket. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and holds member- ship in various civic and social organizations.
WILLIAM E. STEVENSON. As one who has contributed materially to the development and substantial upbuilding of Indianapolis within recent years, Mr. Stevenson is well en- titled to recognition in this volume. He is head of the real estate firm of W. E. Steven- son & Company, with offices at 126 East Mar- ket street, and his operations in the handling and improving of city realty have been of extensive and important order. He has also gained marked precedence as a promoter of corporate enterprises representing public utilities, and is known as an aggressive, relia- ble business man of much prescience and initiative power. This has been significantly manifested in his having been the owner of the Stevenson Building, now State Life Build- ing, the first of the modern, steel-construc- tion and office buildings of Indianapolis, and one that is conceded to be one of the best in the city at the present time, the same being located in Washington street and being twelve storics in height. When he essayed the erec- tion of this building, his plans were looked upon as chimerical and far in advance of demands, but he had the courage and fore- sight to realize that the capital city was des- tined to push rapidly to the front as a com- mercial and industrial center and even those who were most skeptical must now fully realize the wisdom of this course and give him credit for his initiative, for his work in this connection practically ushered in the era of constructing modern and metropolitan of- fice buildings in the business center of the city. Keen, imperturbable and self-confident, Mr. Stevenson has gained success through his own efforts and abilities, and he has proved a valuable acquisition to the business com- munity of Indianapolis.
Mr. Stevenson is a native son of the old
Hoosier commonwealth, having been born in the classic little city of Greencastle, Indiana, on the 22d of October, 1850, and being a son of James D. and Sarah E. (Wood) Stevenson, the former of whom was born in Kentucky, of Scotch-Irish lineage, and the latter of whom was a native of Vermont, and descend- ed from stanch old New England stock. James D. Stevenson was engaged in the hard- ware business at Greencastle for more than thirty years and was a citizen of prominence and influence, ever commanding the confi- dence and esteem of all who knew him. His mother died at Greencastle, aged seventy-five, then the father came and made his home with his son until he died at the age of eighty-three years. Of their children three are now liv- ing.
William E. Stevenson was afforded the ad- vantages of the public schools of his native town, and when but fourteen years of age he began to assist in the work of his father's store, continuing to be associated with the business for a period of fifteen years, within which he received valuable experience and developed the natural business ability that has characterized his later career. He finally became owner of the hardware store so long conducted by his father. Upon retiring from the hardware business he was cashier of the Putnam County Bank in his home city, and was also one of the organizers and directors of the Central National Bank, of Greencastle. Finally he determined to seek a wider field of endeavor and with this end in view he came to Indianapolis in 1888 and established him- self in the real estate business, with which he has continued to be actively identified during the intervening period of more than a score of years, years marked by earnest and prolific application.
In 1896 after long and careful preliminary work and in the face of many obstacles, the Stevenson Building was completed, and the fine structure will stand as a lasting monu- ment to the sagacity, foresight and indefatig- able energy of its promoter. It is one of the highest, most substantial and best equipped office buildings in the city and was erected at a time when the concensus of opinion was that the venture was foolhardy in the ex- treme and that the investment could not be other than unprofitable. All who know aught concerning the "Greater Indianapolis" will readily commend Mr. Stevenson for his pre- science and determination in thus inaugurat- ing the work of erecting buildings of the best modern type in a city where their value is now uniformly recognized. The structure mentioned bore the name of Mr. Stevenson
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until 1905, when he virtually transferred his interests in the same, which has since been known as the State Life Building. This rep- resents only one of the large and important features of the wide activities of Mr. Steven- son in the exploiting and developing of prop- erty in the business center of Indianapolis, and his judgment has at all times been sure and reliable, even though directed along lines considered by others to be far in advance of demands. He has contributed materially to the upbuilding of the city and in later years has figured prominently in connection with the promotion of various railroad and electric- interurban enterprises that touch the inter- ests of the capital city and the state. He is one of the progressive business men of In- dianapolis and here he has so directed his course as to command the confidence and esteem of those with whom he has come in contact in the varied relations of life. As a citizen he is loyal and public-spirited, taking a lively interest in all that concerns the wel- fare of his home city and state, and in polit- ical maters he is found arrayed as a stanch supporter of the cause of the Republican party, though he has never had aught of am- bition for public office. He is a member of the Columbia and Commercial clubs; the Board of Trade and the Marion Club.
On the 22nd of October, 1872, Mr. Steven- son was united in marriage to Miss Margaret W. Wirth, who was born and reared in Cin- cinnati, Ohio, being a daughter of Joseph Wirth, a representative citizen of that place, and the only child of this union is Edna W., wife of Louis F. Smith.
MICHAEL A. DOWNING. If definite accom- plishment in the utilization of subjective power and ability he the criterion of success, then Colonel Michael A. Downing certainly has achieved success. Looking into the clear perspective of his career, there may be seen the strong lines of courage, persistence, de- termination and self-confidence-qualities which alone work forward to the goal of worthy and distinct achievement. Colonel Downing, whose military title is conferred by reason of his service as colonel of Gov- ernor Leslic's staff of Kentucky, has long been one of the vigorous and dominating figures in connection with the industrial, economic and civic life of the Indiana capital, and through service in public office and productive operations in connection with in- dustrial and business enterprises he has con- tributed in generous measure to the advance- ment and upbuilding of "Greater Indianap- olis". Vital energy and broad mental ken indicate this stanch and valued citizen, and
there is no waning of his powers, even though he has passed the span allotted by the psalmist-that of three-score years and ten. Such has been his accomplishment as one of the representative business men and influen- tial citizens of his native state that it is most consonant that at least a brief review of his career be incorporated in this work, and this recognition is the more consistent in view of the fact that he is a scion of one of the old and honored pioneer families of Indiana, with whose history the name has been iden- tified since the territorial epoch.
Michael A. Downing is a native of Scott County, Indiana, where he was born on the 2nd of January, 1835, and he is a son of John and Pernina (Mundon) Downing, both of whom were born in Virginia, where the respective families were founded in the col- onial era of our national history. Michael Downing, grandfather of Colonel Downing, was a patriot soldier in the War of the Revo- lution, in which he was an officer on the staff of General Anthony Wayne, commonly des- ignated as "Mad Anthony". He removed from Virginia to Kentucky and later to In- diana, becoming one of the pioneers of the latter state and having been one of the prom- inent Indian fighters in Scott and Jackson counties. He was aligned as a stalwart soldier in the War of 1812, and in this sec- ond conflict with England he was of those present at the Pigeon Roost massacre, being one of the few to escape death at the hands of the crafty savages. He passed the closing years. of his life in Indiana, and his name merits a place on the roll of the sturdy pio- neers who aided in laying the steadfast foun- dations of our great Hoosier commonwealth.
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