Greater Indianapolis : the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes, Part 46

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 46

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James W. Noel secured his early educa- tional discipline in the public schools of Star City, Indiana, and in his boyhood and early youth he contributed his quota to the work of the home farm. His ambition to gain an education and make for himself a definite place in the world was early manifested in actions rather than idle dreams. When but sixteen years of age he secured a position as teacher in one of the district schools of Pulaski County. and it is a matter of record that the youthful pedagogue did not lack in power of discipline or in the facility for im- parting proper instruction to his pupils, many of whom were older than himself. He continued to follow teaching at intervals for a period of six years and through his labors in this way he earned the money which en- abled him to complete his college course and prepare himself for his chosen profession. Men who win suceess through such discipline seldom lack in ambition and definite accom- plishment in later years, and Mr. Noel has never regretted that his early responsibilities and labors were such as to develop his self- reliance and a spirit of invincible determina- tion. In 1889 he was matriculated in Purdue University, at Lafayette, Indiana, in which

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institution he completed the regular four years' course in two and one-half years, being graduated as a member of the class of 1892 and receiving the degree of Bachelor of Sci- ence. As an under-graduate he won a high reputation and gained the approval of the faculty of the university, and the admiration of his fellow students. He was manager of football and baseball teams, editor of the col- lege paper and biennials, and orator for his class and literary society. He was also a member of Sigma Nu fraternity. For two years after his graduation Mr. Noel held the position of secretary of Purdue University, his alma mater.

In 1894 Mr. Noel entered the law office of Byron K. Elliott, of Indianapolis, under whose effective preceptorship he continued his study of the science of jurisprudence for some time, and in the meanwhile he entered the Indiana Law School, in which he was grad- uated as a member of the class of 1895 and from which he received the degree of Bache- lor of Laws. He was forthwith admitted to the bar and entered upon the active practice of his profession in Indianapolis. The same energy and determination which had char- acterized his work in securing his education were manifest in the early stages or novitiate of his professional career, and these attri- butes, as coupled with broad and compre- hensive knowledge of the law and a distinct facility in its application, both as a trial lawyer and a counselor, enabled him to build up within a short time a very substantial practice. His success in the work of his pro- fession has been cumulative and his prestige has grown apace, so that he now stands in the front ranks of the members of the bar of the eapital city and has a clientage of large and important order.

In politics Mr. Noel is an ardent and un- compromising advocate of the principles and policies for which the Republican party stands sponsor, and both through personal influence and through his able services as a campaign speaker he has done much to fur- ther the party cause in his state. In 1898 he was elected a representative of Marion County in the lower house of the state legis- lature, serving one term and making an ad- mirable record as a broad-minded, liberal and sagacious legislator. He was prominent both in the work on the floor of the house and in the deliberations of the committee room.

Mr. Noel went to the legislature largely for the purpose of assisting in the election of Albert J. Beveridge to the United States Senate, in which he was successful. During

this session he was the author of a large amount of legislation looking to the reorgani- zation of the different institutions of the capital city. He was also the author of the bill under which a franchise was granted to the Citizens' Street Railway Company, in which he worked faithfully for the protection of the rights of the city as against the en- eroachments of the company. Indianapolis boasts of having the best street railway fran- chise of any city in the United States, and Mr. Noel takes particular pride in this ac- complishment.

Mr. Noel has digressed from his private practice of law several times in order to take the layyer's part in public movements. In 1903 he conducted a public investigation of the affairs of the City of Indianapolis which resulted in the overthrow of the ad- ministration at the coming election, and tem- porarily purged the city of much corruption and many abuses. In 1905 the governor of the state appointed him as one of three mem- bers of a commission to investigate state af- fairs and the condition of Indiana insurance companies. Mr. Noel took direction of this movement and devoted the larger part of one year to its success, which resulted in the re- moval of the auditor of state, the secretary of state and the adjutant general, and the recovery of hundreds of thousands of dollars to the state treasury, as well as the entire re- form of the public business. The investiga- tion of the insurance companies required assiduous labor for six months, at the end of which time Mr. Noel wrote for the com- mittee a report on insurance conditions in In- diana which received national attention as a philosophical treatise upon many of the in- tricate subjects of life insurance, concerning which laymen are not at all informed. This investigation and report accomplished a com- plete reform in the insurance business in In- diana. Following the publication of this re- port Mr. Noel was employed by the auditor of state to conduct a public investigation of the State Life Insurance Company of In- diana similar to the Armstrong investigation in New York. Weeks of relentless work re- sulted in the exposure of corruption and the resignation of the president and vice presi- dent of the company and the complete re- organization of its governing board.

In 1908, under the employment of the Mer- chants' Association of Indianapolis, Mr. Noel directed an investigation of the affairs of Marion County, resulting in the indictment and trial of several prominent officials and the recovery to the public treasury of a large amount of money. Following this investiga-

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tion, he induced the Merchants' Association and the commercial bodies of the state to unite in a demand for the passage of a law providing for uniform accounting and an annual audit of all public offices in Indiana, which law was passed by the legislature of 1909. This law was shaped, edited and pro- moted by Mr. Noel and is regarded by econ- omists as a model law of the kind.

Mr. Noel is a member of the International Tax Association and at Louisville in 1909 read a paper before that distinguished body upon "The Taxation of Insurance". His private law practice has included many cases of great public interest as well as financial importance.

In 1895 Mr. Noel was married to Miss Cor- nelia Horton Humphrey of Patriot, Indiana, a graduate of Wesleyan College and a woman of fine culture and beautiful character. She died of typhoid fever eleven weeks after their marriage. On the 29th of June, 1899, Mr. Noel was united in marriage to Miss Anne Madison Sloan, of Indianapolis. She was horn and reared. in the City of Cincinnati, Ohio, where her father, John O. Sloan. was a prominent business man for a number of years. In the maternal line she is a collateral descendant of President James Madison and also of John Marshall, the distinguished chief justice of the United States supreme court. Mrs. Noel is a graduate of Wesleyan Female College, at Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a woman of gracious refinement and high eul- ture. Mr. Noel and his wife hold membership in the Meridian Street Methodist Episcopal Church and he is identified with various fra- ternal, civic and social organizations of a representative order.

HERMAN LIEBER. More than half a century ago Herman Lieber established a modest busi- ness enterprise in Indianapolis, from the nuelens of which was evolved under his direc- tion the large and important manufacturing and retail business still condneted under the title of the H. Lieber Company, and still bearing the impress of his character and ideals. This concern not only conduets an art store in Indianapolis, but in the manufacture of mouldings and pieture frames its trade ex- tends into the most diverse sections of the . United States, as well as into foreign lands. Duesseldorf, the birthplace of Mr. Lieber, was an art center of Germany, and from small beginnings he finally accomplished the almost impossible feat of establishing an art store in Indianapolis when it contained a population of only twelve thousand. His en- deavor throughout was to keep as close to the best art standards as conditions would permit

and not to lag behind, but rather to keep a bit ahead of the community's art develop- ment.

Herman Lieber was born on the 23rd of August, 1832. His father was a manufac- turer of brushes in the city of Duesseldorf, where he was an influential citizen and busi- ness man. Herman Lieber enjoyed the ad- vantages of the excellent schools of his native city, including the gymnasium, which is simi- lar to the high school of the United States. The German revolution of 1848, which stirred all Europe with ideals of freedom, filled young Lieber, then about seventeen years of age, with thoughts of America. In his native place he had served a thorough apprentiee- ship at the trade of book-binding, and thus he was not without practical business re- sources when, in 1853, shortly after attaining to his legal majority. he set forth to make for himself a place in the United States. After arriving he remained for a few months in New York City, seeking employment at his trade, which he failed to find until he an- swered an advertisement which took him to Cincinnati. There he obtained work as a book-binder and maker of pocket books at a salary of seven dollars a week. Business of all kinds was depressed, and under these con- ditions Mr. Lieber found it expedient to make a requisition on his father for funds. In due time he received from home six hundred dol- lars, and with this capital he came to Indian- apolis in 1854, having determined to engage in business for himself. He rented a small room, fourteen by twenty-five feet in dimen- sions, on the south side of Washington street, just east of Meridian street, at fourteen dol- lars a month. Here he opened with a stock of stationery and provided modest facilities for the binding of books, a work in which he was specially skillful. He was followed to America by his brother Peter, and they were associated in business together for a few years in the establishment of what is now the Indianapolis Brewing Company. In a half humorous way Mr. Lieber at one time spoke of his early experience in Indianapolis sub- stantially as follows :

"I spent ninety-six dollars of my capital in tools. Then I bought some shelving and applied the balance to purchasing a stock of stationery. Although I had lived in Cinein- nati but a short time. I found I had more credit than money. and I purchased there a stock costing about two thousand dollars, giv- ing notes dne in six months for the principal part of the purchase price. Two months be- fore the notes came dne I knew I could not pay them, and when they matured I wrote to

Human Liebe

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my creditors, stating that I was unable to pay the notes, but could return the goods. They replied that they did not want the goods, but that I could have all the time I desired to pay the notes. The receipts in my store were very meager in the early days. If I had from one dollar and a half to two dollars of gross receipts in the drawer at night, I felt that I wasn't doing badly. My revenue was chiefly from the book-binding branch of my business. I slept in my store and took my meals at a boarding house kept by Mrs. Walk, the mother of Julius Walk. The board was excellent, at two dollars and fifty cents a week, and among my fellow boarders were Henry Schnull and Fred P. Rush."

The growth of the local business was very slow, and it took many years of trial and labor to bring it where it now stands. As his business increased Mr. Lieber expanded it by putting in a stock of pictures. Finally he established a factory for the manufacture of picture frames and mouldings. The present large retail store of the company. which he founded is located at 24 West Washington street, and the factory plant is in buildings at 1400 Madison avenue. In 1902 the busi- ness was incorporated under its present title -The H. Lieber Company. Mr. Lieber was president of the concern until his death, at which time it was giving employment to a corps of fully two hundred and fifty persons in the factory and the store. For years the H. Lieber Company has sold frames and mouldings in every large city in the United States and Canada from New York to San Francisco, and the trade of the concern is also well established in England, Germany, Holland and other European countries, as well as in Australia.

Mr. Lieber found time to devote much at- tention to civic affairs and social relaxations of a generous order. He was one of the founders of the German-English school, which for a long time was an important factor in local educational work. He was one of the most valned and influential members of the North American Gymnastic Union, of which he was president from 1900 until his death, which occurred on the 22d of March. 1908. In 1882 he was president of the Anti-Pro- hibition League of Indiana, and in this con- nection he took an active part in the state campaign of that year. In 1889 he initiated the movement that resulted in the erection of the German House, and it was largely due to his zealous efforts that the present beanti- ful building was completed, the same being now the home of one of the essentially repre-

sentative organizations of Indianapolis. He was also one of the original corporators of the Crown Hill Cemetery. When the Con- sumers Gas Trust Company was organized Mr. Lieber gave to the promotion of its in- terests almost his entire time and attention, and he was also one of the stanchest sup- porters of its successor, the Citizens' Gas Company.

At the time of the Civil War Mr. Lieber contributed to the extent of his power and means to upholding the cause for he was an uncompromising Abolitionist. He became identified with the Republican party at the time of its organization and continued with it until the nomination of Cleveland on the Democratic ticket. His antipathy to the doc- trine of free silver led him to withdraw from the Democratic ranks when Bryan was placed in nomination. In local politics he main- tained an independent attitude. While show- ing a deep reverence for spiritual verities, Mr. Lieber was practically agnostic in his re- ligious views, though ever tolerant of the opinions of others. His sincerity and integ- rity were unquestionable, and he was broad minded and liberal in his attitude.

The following appreciative words are those of an editorial appearing in the Indianapolis News at the time of Mr. Lieber's death : "While he never had any desire to serve the city or state in an official capacity, he was long recognized as a force in this community in all that tended to build up and strengthen good citizenship. His ideals of civic right- eousness were high but always practical, and he was ever ready to give his best efforts in any cause that appealed to him on the score of community interest. Though a quiet man, cool and collected in manner, he had deep sensibilities, and when these were stirred he was at his best. He delighted in a good fight. When the sixty-cent. gas movement began he was again at the front. and to no one man was the success of that movement due as much as to Herman Lieber. He was perhaps best known, especially among the German citizens of Indianapolis, by the name that had been lovingly given him by his associates, 'The Father of the German House'." Mr. Lieber died while on a pleasure trip to Cali- fornia, having expired. as the result of heart failure, while on a train near Flagstaff, Ari- zona, on the 22d of March, 1908, and the tid- ings of his sudden death caused a feeling of universal sorrow and personal bereavement in the city that was his home for so many years, and to whose progress he contributed in no small measure.

In the year 1857 Mr. Lieber married Miss

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Mary Metzger, who was born at Freusburg, Germany, and who was a sister of Alexander, Jacob and Engelbert Metzger, whose names are prominent in connection with the civic and business history of Indianapolis. Mr. Lieber is survived by four sons and two daughters. The sons, Otto R., Carl H., Rob- ert and Herman P., are members of the H. Lieber Company. The elder daughter, Ida, is the widow of Henry Kothe, and Anna is the wife of Theodore Stempfel, assistant cashier of the American National Bank in Indianapolis.

AQUILLA JONES. The late Aquilla Jones, who spent his last years as a resident of In- dianapolis, prominent in the development of the public works, had already attained high standing throughout the city as treasurer of the commonwealth and active member of its legislature. He was a native of North Caro- lina, born in Stokes (now Forsyth), July 8, 1811, his parents being Benjamin and Mary Jones. As his father was a farmer of lim- ited means, the son was able to obtain but a meager education in youth. In 1831, the family removed to Columbus, Indiana, where a brother, Elisha P. Jones, had already lo- cated and prospered as a merchant. Aquilla entered his brother's store as a clerk and remained thus engaged until 1836, when he went to Missouri for a year, then returned to Columbus and there he became a hotel keeper. Upon the death of his brother, he purchased the store in which he had formerly been employed, and engaged successfully in the business. He also succeeded his brother as postmaster of the town, holding that office for a number of years and continuing in mer- chandise until 1856. During this period he also became connected in the Columbus Bridge Company, and retained his interests in that concern until he located in Indian- apolis. The young man also was honored by Presidents Van Buren and Filmore, who ap- pointed him census enumerator of his county, and he was also tendered the position of clerk of Bartholomew County. Although he re- fused that office he was elected to state legis- lature for the sessions of 1842-3, and while thus serving declined the appointment for Indian Agent for Washington territory, which was tendered by President Pierce. Later he refused the same position for the territory of New Mexico. In 1856, Mr. Jones was elected on the Democratic ticket to the state treasurership of Indiana and performed his duties with such credit as to gain him re-election in 1858.

The above named service brought Mr. Jones into intimate service with many of the lead-

ing citizens of Indianapolis, and resulted in his permanent residence in that city. In 1861 he was made treasurer of the Indian- apolis Rolling Mills, which position was held until 1873, when he was made president of the corporation. In the same year he was honored with the presidency of the city Water Works, but resigned that office in a short time in order to give more attention to his large private interests.

He was a warm personal friend of vice president Thomas A. Hendricks, and, upon the election of Cleveland and Hendricks, Mr. Jones, upon the request of Mr. Hendricks, was appointed postmaster at Indianapolis. In the midst of his important and progress- ing enterprise he was ever mindful of his religious obligation, and for years was an energetic worker in the St. Paul's Episcopal Church.

Mr. Jones was twice married, first in 1836 to Miss Sarah Ann Arnold, who died soon afterward, and in 1840 he wedded Miss Har- riet Cox. The children of the latter mar- riage are as follows: Elisha P., John W., Emma, Benjamin F .. Charles, Aquilla Q., Edwin S., William M., Frederick, Harriet and Mary.

AQUILLA Q. JONES has made his substan- tial reputation as a lawyer entirely at the Indianapolis bar, having been engaged in practice since 1875. His prominence has been attained both in private practice and his capacity as city attorney. For a num- ber of years he has been a member of the widely known firm of Ayres and Jones, whose practice was successfully carried into all the courts of the city, state and Union. Mr. Jones is a native of Columbus, Indiana, born April 14. 1852, and is a son of Aquilla and Harriet (Cox) Jones. For half a century or more his father was a leader in state politics and in public affairs of Indiana, and served ably in the legislature in various official capaci- ties under the commonwealth. In addition he was a very influential business man of Indianapolis. His useful and strong per- sonalities are set forth in other pages of this history.

Aquilla Q. of this sketch commenced his education in the common schools of Colum- bus, continuing from there at the Farming- ton (Maine) Academy, Bloomington (In- diana) State University, and completed his preparations for a professional life at Racine College, Wisconsin. In the latter institute he was graduated in 1873. from the full classical course, and soon afterward assumed the study of law at Columbia College. New York City. In 1875. soon after graduating

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HISTORY OF GREATER INDIANAPOLIS.

from the latter, Mr. Jones located at Indian- apolis. He has practiced both alone and in partnership with W. S. Ryan, Charles B. Rockwood, and Hon. Thomas L. Sullivan. For the last -twenty years he has been in part- nership with Hon. Alexander C. Ayres. At the present time he is a member of the firm of Ayres and Jones, a firm composed of Alex- ander C. Ayres, Aquilla Q. Jones and Walter D. Jones, son of Mr. Jones. In 1893, Mr. Jones was appointed city attorney of Indian- apolis, and held that office with great credit until the end of Mayor Sullivan's administra- tion. He is numbered among the most promi- nent members of the Indianapolis bar, and is identified with the Commercial Club and other social clubs. He has also served as a member of the Indiana State Board of Chari- ties, having been appointed to that office by Governor Matthews. He was a member of the Sinking Fund Commission of Indian- apolis for a number of years and, at the pres- ent time, is the president of the Indianapolis Board of Trade. In his religious faith Mr. Jones is a member of the Protestant Episco -. pal Church and is Senior Warden of St. Paul's Church of Indianapolis. His wife was formerly Miss Annie L. Raschig, a lady of high character and social influence.

GREENLY V. WOOLLEN, M. D. One of the distinguished representatives of the medical profession in his native state and one who has lent dignity and honor to his profession through his able services and sterling charac- ter, is Dr. Woollen, who has been engaged in active practice in the city of Indianapolis for a period of more than forty-five years. He has attained to distinction as a specialist in the treatment of discases of the nose, throat, and ear, and has also been prominent in the educational and scientific departments of his profession. A man of fine· attainments and marked skill as a physician and surgeon, his precedence has been a natural result, and he merits consideration in this publication as one of the leading representatives of his profes- sion in the State of Indiana.

Dr. Greenly Vinton Woollen was born in Center Township, Marion County, Indiana, near the middle of what is now Riverside Park, on the 24th of June, 1840, and is a son of Milton and Sarah (Black) Woollen, the former of whom. was born in Kentucky and the latter in Maryland, and both families were founded in America in the colonial era of our national history. The parents of the doctor were very early settlers of Marion County, Indiana, where the father reclaimed a farm from the forest wilds and became one of the influential men and honored citizens of

the county. Both he and his wife continued their residence in Marion County until their death, and the names of both merit an endur- ing place on the roll of the worthy pioneers of this favored section of the state. They be- came the parents of five sons and five daugh- ters, and Dr. Woollen was the second son. Of the children six are now living, in 1909.

Dr. Woollen was reared to early maturity under the invigorating discipline and influ- ence of the home farm. and in the district schools he gained his rudimentary education, after which he continued his studies under special training in Indianapolis, which was scarcely more than a village. He made good use of the opportunities thus afforded him and thus was well fortified for taking up the work of a more specific or technical education. He began the study of medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. Samuel Record, of Law- rence, Indiana, and later continued his studies under the effective direction of the late Dr. John S. Bobbs, one of the distinguished phy- sicians and surgeons and honored citizens of Indianapolis. During the greater part of the years 1859 and 1860, Dr. Woollen continued his studies in the Cincinnati College of Medi- cine and Surgery, and he subordinated all other interests to render his services to the Union when the Civil War was precipitated on a divided nation. At the very initiation of the war he was appointed camp surgeon of Camp Morton, in Indianapolis, before he had attained to his legal majority. In September, 1861, he was commissioned assistant surgeon of the Twenty-seventh Regiment Indiana Vol- unteer Infantry, and he served for three years, in the armies of the Potomac and the Cumberland, the first year only with his regi- ment. He became surgeon in chief of the Artillery Brigade of the 12th Army Corps, and later he held the same position with the Twentieth Army Corps of the Army of the Cumberland, except during the spring and summer of 1864. when he was surgeon in chief of Seminary Hospital at Murfreesboro, Tennessee. In the battle of Cedar Mountain, Virginia, he was captured by the enemy, and as one of General Pope's officers, he was held as a hostage in Libby prison until that officer rescinded his order to forage off the country. Dr. Woollen received his honorable discharge in September, 1864, by reason of expiration of term of service, and he then resumed his studies, being matriculated in Bellevue Hos- pital Medical College, New York City, in which celebrated institution he was gradu- ated as a member of the class of 1865. and from which he received his well earned degree of Doctor of Medicine.

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Greater Indianapolis : the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes, Part 46

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