Greater Indianapolis : the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes, Part 59

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 59


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John F. Wallick was reared to maturity in his native place and his early educational ad- vantages were such as were afforded in the common schools of the locality and period. That he made good use of his opportunities in this line is shown by the fact that he proved himself eligible for pedagogie honors,


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HISTORY OF GREATER INDIANAPOLIS.


having been employed as a teacher in a dis- +rict school during one winter term. In 1849, when nineteen years of age, he severed the gracious home ties and set forth to win his own way in the world. He came westward to Ohio and located first in Fredericksburg, Ohio, where he was employed for a year as a clerk in a dry-goods store, after which he was for a time incumbent of a clerical posi- tion in the postoffice at Wooster, that state. In 1851 Mr. Wallick initiated his identifica -. tion with the line of enterprise that has ever since engrossed his attention as a business man. In that year he entered the employ of the Wade Telegraph Company, at Woos- ter, where he received instructions from and worked under the supervision of General Eckert, who is now chairman of the board of directors of the Western Union Telegraph Company. In 1852, still in the employ of the Wade Telegraph Company, Mr. Wallick was transferred to its office in Indianapolis. The company was later merged into the Ohio, In- diana & Illinois Telegraph Company, and the latter eventually became a part of the great Western Union Telegraph Company, in 1856. During all the long intervening years Mr. Wallick has continued in service in Indian- apolis, where he held the position of manager of the business of his company until 1864, since which time he has been superintendent of the Indianapolis office. Ability, discrimi- nation and fidelity have characterized his en- tire business career in his semi-public office, and he has ever held the unequivocal confi- dence of the officials of the company and the esteem and good will of the people of Indian- apolis.


Mr. Wallick has never had aught of desire to bask in the light of publicity, but he has been essentially and deeply loyal to all the duties of citizenship and has taken much in- terest in all that has tended to conserve the progress and prosperity of his home city. He gives his allegiance to the Republican party, has attained to the fourteenth degree in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Masonry, and has been prominent and influential in the fraternity of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has held membership in the grand lodge of the state and also in the sovereign grand lodge of the United States. His direct affiliation is with Capitol Lodge, No. 124, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he has been a member for a great many years. Both he and his wife are earnest and zealous members of the Second Presbyterian Church and both are held in affectionate regard by all who have come with-


in the immediate sphere of their gracious and kindly influence.


On the 10th of June, 1862, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wallick to Miss Mary A. Martin, who was born and reared in Rahway, New Jersey, and who is a daughter of the late Dr. John and Mary A. (Brockfield) Mar- tin, of Rahway, Union County, New Jersey. In conclusion is entered a brief record con- cerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Wallick, the names being in the respective order of birth : Martin Henry, Edward, Mary .A., Adele, Katherine P., John G., Edith, Fred- erick W., Edwin E. Martin H. is identified with a stove manufactory in Indianapolis. Edward died in infancy; Mary A. is the wife of John A. Butler, of Indianapolis, and they have two children-Noble C. and Mary; Katherine P. is the wife of Louis Lathrope, of Indianapolis; John G. is assistant super- intendent of the American District Telegraph Company, of Indiana ; Frederick W. and Ed- win E. are in business in New York City; and the other children remain at the parental home.


FREDERICK P. RUSH. The late Frederick P. Rush, who died at his home in Indianap- olis on Thursday, April 29, 1909, was one of those favoreď mortals whom nature launches into the world with the heritage of sturdy an- cestry, a splendid physique, a masterful mind and energy enough for many men. For more than half a century he was identified with business and civic interests in the Indiana capital, where he rose to a position of dis- tinctive prominence in connection with com- mercial affairs of broad scope and importance and where he accumulated a competency through his own well directed efforts. Pro- gressive and public-spirited as a citizen, he so ordered his life in all its relations as to re- tain the inviolable confidence and respect of his fellow men. He was one of the pioneer citizens of German birth in Indianapolis and in his life and accomplishment well showed how valuable an element the great empire of Germany has contributed to the complex so- cial fabric of America. Unwavering rectitude, generous and noble spirit and splendid busi- ness ability characterized this honored citi- zen, and so large a part did he play in the development and upbuilding of the capital city that he specially merits a tribute in this history of the city that so long represented his home and the center of his varied inter- ests.


Frederick Paul Rush was born on the 10th of May, 1834, and the place of his nativity was Telgte, Westphalia, Germany, where his parents passed their entire lives and where


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HISTORY OF GREATER INDIANAPOLIS.


the family had been established for many: generations. In the excellent schools of his native town he received his early educational training, which was effectively supplemented by a course of study in a well ordered in- stitution at Osnabruck, kingdom of Hanover. In 1853, when nineteen years of age, he sev- ered the home ties and, like many another of the sturdy sons of his fatherland, set forth to avail himself of the superior advantages afforded in America, whither he came with- out finaneial reinforcement but well fortified with courage, ambition, industrious habits and marked mental and physical vigor. He made Indianapolis his destination and arrived in this city in November of the year men- tioned. Here he eame as a veritable stranger in a strange land, but he soon adjusted him- self to existing conditions and found employ- ment in the hardware and groeery establish- ment of Vollmer & Vonnegut, West Wash- ington street. The ambitious young man was not long in formulating plans for an indepen- dent career, and his courage was one of def- inite aetion. In May, 1855, he entered into partnership with Henry Schnull and they en- gaged in the retail grocery business, in which they continued to be associated until Aug- ust, 1856. The keen observative powers and marked business acumen and judgment of Mr. Rush manifested themselves in this early stage of his business eareer, as he was even then able to discern opportunities and even to make them. Upon retiring from the gro- eery business he succeeded the firm of Lock- hart Brothers and engaged in dealing in flour, feed and garden seeds, with headquarters in the old Masonie Hall building, at the south- east corner of Washington street and Capi- tol avenue. The inception of his business in this line was modest, but his energy, pro- gressive policy and careful and honorable methods enabled him to soon build up a large and prosperous enterprise. In the autumn of 1857 he amplified the scope of his business by the buying and shipping of grain, and he was the first dealer in Indianapolis to develop this important line of industry and conduet operations on an .extensive scale. In the earlier period of his identification with' this business he made shipments to Cincinnati. Louisville and Cleveland, but he soon extend- ed his transactions to leading city markets on the Atlantic seaboard. In 1862 Mr. Rush erected a grain elevator on South Delaware street, facing Georgia street, and this prop- erty he sold a number of years later to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. He subse- quently built elevator B on the Vandalia and Belt Railroads, west of the White River. This


elevator was destroyed by fire on the night of January 23, 1893, entailing a heavy loss. The elevator was not rebuilt.


Concerning the business career of Mr. Rush the following statements were made in an ar- tiele appearing in the Indianapolis News at the time of his death, and the same are con- sistently perpetuated in this volume: "Mr. Rush, who bore the honored title of 'Father of the Indianapolis Board of Trade', was the first president of the organization. He took' offiees. in the old Board of Trade building in 1874, and there continued until January, 1901, when, because of ill health, he sold his business to Frank L. Murphy & Company, after which time he lived virtually retired un- til his death. In 1875 he formed a partner- ship with Edmond F. Gall, who died in 1893, and with George E. Townley, who died in September, 1900. Although he had many losses, Mr. Rush retired with a competeney. It is said that within a period of ten years, beginning in 1873, his losses exceeded five hundred thousand dollars. Notwithstanding this long period of bad luck he never failed to meet 'all of his financial obligations. A number of the present prominent grain deal- ers of the Board of Trade were graduated from his office, and they, as well as all others familiar with the career of Mr. Rush, bear testimony not only to his inflexible integrity in all dealings and transactions but also to his admirable discrimination and sagacity as a man capable of handling affairs of broad scope. For several years Mr. Rush had been in ill health, a sufferer from hay fever and several attacks of asthma. In search of relief from his ailments he spent much of his time away from Indianapolis. He made several trips to Europe, went to California, South and North Carolina and elsewhere, and at times occupied his attractive summer home at Wawasee. Indiana. Mr. Rush was the last survivor of the seven or eight young Germans who, fifty-six years ago, formed the singing society out of which grew the Indianapolis Maennerchor. The only instrument owned by this little band, which met in a dingy, candle- lighted room up two flights of stairs, in East Washington street, to sing the songs of the German fatherland, was a guitar, which, if it eould now be found, would be considered by the Maennerchor a treasure of inestimable value."


At the time when he was summoned to the life eternal Mr. Rush was one of the oldest and best known Indianapolis citizens of Ger- man birth. and in private life and business eireles none held a more secure vantage place in popular confidence and esteem. He was


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a man of gracious personality, kindly in- stinets, utmost generosity and unquestioned probity. He gained through his own energies and ability a large measure of success in tem- poral affairs and stood as a fine type of the self-made man. He was not sclf-centered, but took a deep interest in the welfare of his fel- lowmen, was tolerant in his judgment and ever ready to extend aid to those in need. His political allegiance was given to the Re- publican party, and while never a seeker of office he ever showed a loyal interest in pub- lic affairs and was essentially progressive and liberal in his attitude as a citizen of the country in which it was given him to achieve so marked success. He was one of the valued members of the Board of Trade until the time of his death, and held membership in the Commercial Club, the German House and the Indianapolis Maennerchor, of which last, as already intimated, he was one of the found- ers. His religious faith was that of the Cath- olic Church.


On the 18th of December, 1860, was sol- emnized the marriage of Mr. Rush to Miss Bertha Gall, who was born in Stuttgart, Ger- many, and came to Indianapolis as a child, and who is a daughter of the late Dr. Alois D. Gall, a distinguished pioneer physician and surgeon to whom a memoir is dedicated on other pages of this work. Mr. Rush is survived by no children and his widow still maintains her residence in the beautiful home at 716 North Capitol avenue.


Mr. Rush indelibly impressed his influence upon the civic and industrial life of Indian- apolis, was a force in the commercial world, and was one who ever appreciated the re- sponsibilities which personal success imposes. He ordered his life upon a high plane of in- tegrity and honor and even this brief record of his career can not but offer both lesson and incentive.


ALOIS D. GALL, M. D. Among those who have stood as distinguished types of the world's workers was the late Dr. Alois D. Gall, who was one of the able and honored pioneer physicians and surgeons of Indian- apolis, who served with distinction as United States consul at Antwerp, Belgium, and who showed his unqualified loyalty to the land of his adoption by his effective interposition as a surgeon in the Union army in the Civil War. He was a man of fine intellectual and professional attainments, of most gracious personality, of strong and noble character, and one who labored with all of zeal and de- votion in the alleviation of human suffering. As one of those who have lent dignity and honor to the medical profession in Indian-


apolis and who brought to his chosen voca- tion the strength and devotion of a great soul and a great mind, it is most consonant that in this publication be entered and perpet- uated a tribute to his memory.


In the town of Weil-de-Stadt, in the king- dom of Wurtemberg, Germany, Dr. Alois D. Gall was born on the 16th of March, 1814, and he bore the full patronymic of his fa- ther, Alois D. Gall, who was a prosperous merchant in the town mentioned and who there continued to reside until his death. In the schools of his native place Dr. Gall se- cured his early educational discipline and later he continued his studies in an excellent- ly conducted educational institution in the city of Stuttgart. He was a close and appre- ciative student in his youth, as was he also in his maturer years, and he had gained a liberal education in his native land before he decided to come to America to establish his home and work out his destiny. In 1842, at the age of twenty-four years, he emigrated to the United States, and within the same year he settled in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in which locality he purchased a tract of land. After remaining in the Badger state for one year he went to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he took up the study of medicine un- der the able' preceptorship of Dr. Gross, one of the leading physicians and surgeons of the Keystone state at that time. He later com- pleted his technical studies in one of the best of the Pennsylvania medical colleges, and aft- er his graduation he initiated the practice of his profession at Zelienople, Butler County, Pennsylvania, where he remained one year, at the expiration of which he removed to Slip- pery Rock, in the same county, and still later to Portersville, that county, in both of which latter towns he followed the work of his pro- fession. In 1847 he took up his residence in Indianapolis, and here he soon gained a large and profitable practice, to which he continued to devote'his attention until 1853, when he was appointed United States consul at Ant- werp, Belgium, which office he held during the administrations of Presidents Pierce and Buchanan. He showed much diplomatic abil- ity in this important governmental post, and was specially popular with the various Amer- ican sea captains whose vessels visited the port of Antwerp. As an expression of their appreciation of his personal consideration and of his loyalty and discrimination as a repre- sentative of the United States Government, a number of these representative members of the American maritime service presented him with a beautiful gold-headed cane, which ever afterward was one of his most valued


Vol. II-19


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HISTORY OF GREATER INDIANAPOLIS.


treasures. He retired from nis consular post in 1860, and forthwith returned to In- dianapolis, where he resumed the active prac- tice of his profession. Soon, however, he felt the call of higher duty, and he subordinated personal interests to show his loyalty to the Union when its integrity was thrown into jeopardy through armed rebellion. In 1861 he enlisted in the Thirteenth Indiana Volun- teer Infantry, in which he was given the of- fice of surgeon, and later he was made brigade surgeon and medical director of Gen- eral Peck's corps. He continued with his command in active service for three years, within which he came in touch with a number of the most notable battles marking the progress of the great conflict between the north and south, and at the expiration of that period he resigned his office and was given an honorable discharge. Prior to re- turning to his home in Indianapolis the of- ficers of his regiment gave evidence of their high regard for the man and the surgeon by presenting to him a magnificent sword, with appropriate inscription. After his retire- ment from military service, in which his rec- ord was one marked by the highest honor and ability, he resumed the practice of his pro- fession in Indianapolis, where he continued in the harness until a short time prior to his death, which here occurred on the 11th of February, 1867.


Not only did Dr. Gall have high standing as a representative of his exacting profession but he was also held in unequivocal esteem as a broad-minded, liberal and loyal citizen of his adopted country. His popularity in In- dianapolis was significantly shown in the af- fectionate regard accorded to him by all who knew him, and his name merits an enduring place on the roll of the sterling pioneer physi- ciana of the Indiana capital. In politics the doctor waa a stanch supporter of the princi- ples and policies of the Democratic party, but public office never had aught of allurement for him. He was one of the prominent and appreciative members of the Masonic fra- ternity in Indianapolis, where he was affiliat- ed with Center Lodge. Free and Accepted Masons; the Chapter of Royal Arch Masons; and Raper Commandery, No. 1, Knights Templars, of which last organization he served at one time as generalissimo.


In the year 1839 was solemnized the mar- riage of Dr. Gall to Miss Caroline E. Hock, of Paris, France, but afterward of Stuttgart, Germany, where she was reared. Three years after his marriage his wife accompanied him on his immigration to the United States. Mrs. Gall waa aummoned to eternal rest on April


5, 1898, at the age of seventy-one years, and concerning the children the following brief record is given: Bertha is the widow of Frederick P. Rush, of whom specific mention is made elsewhere in this publication, and she still resides in Indianapolis; John Wallace Albert is dead, as is also Edmund F., and Louis Washington died in infancy.


JOHN KOLMER, M. D. It has been through his own exertions and the applications of his own powers that Dr. Kolmer has risen to a position as one of the able and popular mem- bers of his profession in the country to which he came from a foreign land when a young man, without financial resources but imbued with self-reliance, courage and ambition, which are the concomitants of power and progress. He is now one of the representa- tive physicians and surgeons of the city of Indianapolis, where he has a large and suc- cessful practice.


Dr. Kolmer was born in Zotzenbach, Province of Preuse, Germany, on the 15th of December, 1865, and is the son of George and Marguerite (Eckert) Kolmer, the former of whom died in Germany, and the latter of whom came with her son, of this review, to America, in 1881. She died in the state of Maryland, in 1883. Dr. Kolmer was afforded the advantages of the excellent schools of his native land, where he duly pursued his studies in the common and high school. In 1881 he emigrated to America, being accom- panied by his mother, as has already been noted, and he landed in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, on the 14th of June of that year. He was employed about six months on a farm near Barton, that state, and in the meanwhile attended the public schools of the locality for a short interval, in order to gain a better knowledge of the English language. He worked at any honorable occupation he could secure during the early years of his residence in the United States, bending his every en- ergy to advancing his knowledge and to the attaining of a definite purpose. Success is the natural prerogative of such valiant souls, and out of the turmoil and struggle of the former days, Dr. Kolmer has emerged tri- umphant, realizing his ambition and meriting the title of self-made man, which is one ever honored in our great American republic. For nearly two years the doctor was employed in coal mines in the State of Maryland, and after the death of his devoted mother, in 1883. he was clerk in a general store at Eckhart Mines, that state, until 1886, when he came to Indiana and entered the Central Normal School, at Danville, where he continued his studies for a brief period. In the spring of


John Hohner Mu. ..


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HISTORY OF GREATER INDIANAPOLIS.


1887 he came to Indianapolis, where he en- tered the employ of Kipp Brothers, engaged in the druggist sundries business. He re- mained with this firm until 1891, and in the meanwhile attended night school with the utmost regularity, and in the year mentioned he went to the City of Philadelphia, where he was matriculated in historic old Jefferson Medical College, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1894, and from which he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine. Thereafter he furthered his knowl- edge of his chosen profession by serving as interne in Jefferson Hospital, at Philadelphia, and St. Joseph's Hospital, at Reading, Penn- sylvania, in which institution he gained most valuable clinical experience.


In 1896, Dr. Kolmer returned to Indianap- olis, where he established an office and en- gaged in the active work of the profession for which he had fitted himself through his own well-directed endeavors and earnest ap- plication. In 1899 he made a trip to his na- tive land, and while there he did most ef- fective post-graduate work in leading hos- pitals and medical schools in Berlin, Heidel- berg, Vienna, and Munich. He returned to the United States in the autumn of 1899, after an absence of about six months, four of which were spent in hospital work and the balance in traveling. He has since been en- gaged in the active and successful practice of his profession in Indianapolis, making a specialty of the surgical branch of the same and being recognized as a particularly skill- ful and versatile operator. He is an appre- ciative, and valued member of the Indian- apolis Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Society, and the American Medical Association. He is also a life member of the Obstetrical and Gynecological Society of Germany. Dr .. Kolmer was among the first surgeons who operated on children for crim- inal intent; this branch of surgery, as is well known, is one of utmost delicacy.


In politics Dr .. Kolmer gives his allegiance to the Republican party, taking a lively in- terest in the questions and issues of the hour and being well fortified in his convictions as to matter of public polity. He and his wife hold membership in the First Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis, and in the time-hon- ored Masonic fraternity he has attained to the thirty-second degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, in which his affiliation is with the consistory of the valley of Indianapolis. In the York Rite branch of the order his su- preme affiliation is with Raper Com- mandery No. 1, Knights Templars, and he is enrolled as a member of the adjunct organ-


ization, Murat Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He also holds membership in the Knights of Pythias.


On the 16th of October, 1901, Dr. Kolmer was united in marriage to Miss May Aufder- heide, of Indianapolis, where she was born and reared, being a daughter of William Aufderheide. Dr. and Mrs. Kolmer have one daughter, Elizabeth, who was born on the 8th of November, 1902.


LEO M. RAPPAPORT. One of the representa- tive younger members of the bar of the capi- tal city of Indiana, is Leo M. Rappaport, who is a native of this city and a member of one of its honored families of German lineage. He is established in the successful practice of his profession and has well-equipped offices in the Law building.


Leo M. Rappaport was born in Indianap- olis on the 19th of June, 1879, and to the pub- lic schools of this city he is indebted for his early educational discipline, which included the curriculum of the high school. At the age of eighteen years he was matriculated in the law department of the celebrated Univer- sity of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, in which he completed the prescribed course and gradu- ated as a member of the class of 1900. He made an excellent record in the law school and from the same received his well-earned degree of Bachelor of Laws. Soon after his graduation he was admitted to the bar of his native city and established himself in the gen- eral practice of his profession in Indianapolis, where his novitiate was of short duration and where he now controls a substantial and rep- resentative business in the law profession. He is a member of the Marion County Bar As- sociation and the Indiana State Bar Associa- tion. He is prominently identified with va- rious civic organizations of representative character and is popular in both the social and business circles of his native city. He holds membership in the Columbia, the Mar- ion and the Commercial clubs, as well as the German House, of which last named or- ganization he is secretary. In politics he is a Republican. On June 15, 1909, Mr. Rappaport was united in marriage to Char- lotte Adam, a daughter of William Adam, of Indianapolis.




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