Greater Indianapolis : the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes, Part 6

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 6

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same many other buildings and a large num- ber of bridges have been constructed by the company in Indianapolis and in many other sections of the state. It is needless to say that Mr. Moore deserved great credit for his ener- gy, prescience and activity exemplified at a time when this splendid building material need- ed an exponent. His ambitious, hard-working disposition is shown by the high standard al- ready attained, and as a progressive business man and as one whose achievement is worthy of note, he may well be classed among the lead- ing "captains of industry" in the state of In- diana, as is he one of the popular citizens and representative business men of its capital city.

In politics Mr. Moore gives an unqualified allegiance to the Republican party, and he has taken an active interest in the promotion of the cause of the "grand old party." Though not actively identified with any religious organi- zation he is a believer in the tenets of the Christian religion and attends and supports the Disciples' or Christian church, in whose faith he was reared. He is a member and di- rector of the Commercial Club, and is iden -. tified with the Board of Trade, the Marion Club and the Indiana Engineering Society, be- sides which he is a member and director of the American Society of Engineering Con- tractors, with headquarters in the City of New York. He is prominently identified with the time-honored Masonic fraternity, in which his affiliations are as here noted: Oriental Lodge, No. 500, Free & Accepted Masons; Keystone Chapter, No. 6, Royal Arch Masons; Indian- apolis Council, No. 2, Royal and Select Mas- ters; Raper Commandery, No. 1, Knights Templar ; and Indianapolis Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, in which he has at- tained to the thirty-second degree, having been president of his class of 1905; he is also a member of Murat Temple, Ancient Arabic Or- der of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

On the 14th of June, 1898, Mr. Moore was united in marriage to Miss Flora Mabel Berg, daughter of Samuel and Pauline Isabelle (Gen- try) Berg, of Arcadia, Indiana. She died on the 25th of August, 1899, and is survived by a son, Berg DeWitt, who was born August 24, 1899. On the 19th of November, 1902, Mr. Moore wedded Miss Dorothy Comer, daughter of the late John C. Comer, whose wife, Anna E. (Gilbert) Comer, now resides in Indian- apolis. Mr. Comer was one of the well known and substantial business men of Marion and Morgan Counties and was a leader in the local ranks of the Republican party. He was sher- iff of Morgan County for two terms, and was a gallant soldier of the Union in the Civil War.

Mr. and Mrs. Moore have one son, Gilbert Comer Moore, who was born October 1, 1904.

JOHN C. RUCKELSHAUS is one of the most prominent members of the Indianapolis bar, both in private practice and as a representa- tive of his city and county. He is a native of the city, born on the 11th of March, 1873, and is a son of Conrad and Caroline (Karle) Ruckelshaus. His father was born in Germany and his mother in Indianapolis, of German parents, the former having resided in the state capital since he was seventeen years of age; as he is now in his sixtieth year, it is evident that he is classed as one of the early settlers of Indianapolis. Conrad Ruckelshaus has been retired from an old and prosperous grocery business for sixteen years, his son Henry suc- ceeding him as its proprietor. His wife is also in the full enjoyment of an industrious and useful life.

John C., the elder of two children, first obtained a public school education, then en- joyed two years at DePauw University, and completed his studies by a course at the In- diana Law School, from which he graduated in 1895. Admitted to practice in that year, he has since been a stirring and progressive figure in professional practice and public life. Soon after commencing practice he was ap- pointed county attorney for the poor, became deputy prosecuting attorney about a year and a half later, and resigned the latter to be- come a candidate for the head of the depart- ment. He was elected to the office of prosecut- ing attorney in 1900 and 1902, serving cred- itably for two terms, and in 1905 and 1907 was chosen chairman of the Marion County Republican Central Committee. He is now serving as county attorney of Marion County, his first appointment to that office being in January, 1908. Mr. Ruckelshaus has a strong standing in social and fraternal organizations, among others enjoying membership in the Co- lumbia and Marion Clubs and the Knights of Pythias. In 1898 he married Miss Anna C. Kiley, daughter of John and Catherine Kiley, of Marion, Indiana, and the children by this union are John, Conrad and Thomas.

JOSEPH E. MORROW, M. D., has been a resi- dent of Indianapolis since his childhood days, and here he has worked his own way forward to a position of distinctive prestige as one of the representative physicians and surgeons of the capital city. As a specialist in the treat- ment of genito-urinary diseases he has attained high repute, and to this special branch of his profession he now gives his undivided atten- tion, in hoth the medical and surgical depart- ments. He has been in a significant sense the architect of his own fortunes, and thus it

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is the more gratifying to note his high stand- ing in his profession and as a loyal and pub- lic-spirited citizen of the community in which practically his entire life thus far has been passed.

Dr. Morrow is a native of the City of Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, where he was born on the 12th of January, 1853, and he is a son of Robert and Sallie (Bender) Morrow, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania, a member of an early settled family of that commonwealth, and the latter of whom was a native of France-presumably of Alsace-Lor- raine, now constituting a province of Germany. Robert Morrow was reared to manhood in the old Keystone state, where he received a limited common-school education. There his mar- riage was solemnized and there he continued to reside until 1857,; when he removed with his family to Indianapolis, where he followed the vocation of stationary engineer for a term of years, after which he was identified with the draying and transfer business. He was n man of unassuming worth of character and well merited the respect in which he was uni- formly held in the community which so long represented his home. He died in Indianap- olis in 1899, when about seventy-eight years of age, and his widow still resides here, hav- ing attained to the venerable age of eighty- two years (1909). They became the parents of four children, of whom one son and one daughter are now living. The father was a Democrat in politics and his wife has long been a devoted member of the Baptist Church.

Dr. Morrow was a child of four years at the time of the family removal from Phila- delphia to Indianapolis, and in the latter city he was reared to maturity. He attended the public schools until he had attained to the age of twelve years, when he found employ- ment and became largely dependent upon his own resources. His prescience and ambition prompted him to seek eventually wider educa- tional advantages, and he conserved his earn- ings for the purpose of gaining the desired end. At the age of nineteen years he entered the old Northwestern Christian University, now known as Butler College, located at Irv- ington, a suburb of Indianapolis, where he continued his studies for one and one-half years, after which he entered Shurtleff College. at Upper Alton, Illinois, where he completed the work of the sophomore year. From 1876 until 1880 he was identified with business in- terests in Indianapolis and he was then mat- riculated in the Medical College of Indiana. in this city, in which institution he completed the prescribed course and was graduated as a member of the class of 1883, with the well

earned degree of Doctor of Medicine. He was a student of Dr. J. W. Marsee. After his graduation Dr. Morrow served as interne in the Indianapolis City Hospital until 1885, and in this position gained most valuable clinical experience. Since that time he has been en- gaged in the active practice of his profession in Indianapolis and, in view of his recognized professional ability and the determination, per- severance and self-reliance that have ever char- acterized him, it is needless to say that he has gained determinate success and precedence and has built up a practice of representative order. He continued in general practice un- til 1900, since which time he has limited his practice to the treatment of genito-urinary diseases, realizing that through such concentra- tion in the domain of his profession he can make his services more valuable and find am- ple scope for his best efforts.

Dr. Morrow has done a large amount of ef- fective post-graduate work and prosecuted much individual research and study, particu- larly along the line of his special department of practice. In 1899 he completed a course in the Post-Graduate School & Hospital in New York City and in the New York School of Clinical Medicine. In 1901 he did post- graduate work in the Chicago Polyclinic, one of the fine institutions of that western me- tropolis. The doctor is attending physician in the treatment of genito-urinary diseases at the Indianapolis City Hospital and also the city dispensary, and in this same specialty he was formerly an adjunct-professor of the Cen- tral College of Physicians & Surgeons. He is an appreciative and valued member of the In- diana State Medical Society and the Indianap- olis Medical Society. He enjoys marked per- sonal popularity in his home city and is a member of the Columbia Club, the Marion Club and other representative civic organiza- tions. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias. His political alle- giance is accorded to the Republican party, in whose cause he manifests a lively interest, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Baptist Church.

On the 31st of March, 1886, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Morrow to Miss Eliza- beth M. Richards, who was born and reared in Onondago County, New York, and who is a daughter of Elisha and Lydia A. Richards. Dr. and Mrs. Morrow have one son, Robert E., who was born on the 6th of July, 1887 ..

NICHOLAS MCCARTY, SR. Not too often and not through the agency of too many vehicles can be recorded the life history of one who lived so honorable and useful a life as did Nicholas MeCarty, Sr., who was an honored

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and distinguished pioneer of Indiana and of its capital city. He was a man of signal ex- altation and purity of purpose, of well dis- ciplined mind, though his early educational advantages were limited, and his course was, guided and governed by the most inviolable principles of integrity and honor. Simple and unostentatious in his self-respecting and tol- erant individuality, endowed with strong char- acter and generous and lovable qualities, he could not prove other than a dynamic force for good in whatsoever relations in life he might have been placed. As a business man he was prominent and successful; in public affairs he wielded 'much influence; and in so- cial life his personality gained and retained to him unqualified confidence and esteem. In- diana was fortunate in enlisting him as one of her pioneers, and his name is indelibly writ- ten upon her annals, though more than half a century has passed since he was . summoned from the scenes of his mortal endeavors.

Mr. McCarty was born on the 26th of Sep- tember, 1795, at Moorefield, Hardy County, Virginia, which section is now included in the State of West Virginia, and when he was a child his father died, after which his mother removed to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He re- ceived but meager educational privileges, as the financial status of the family was such that he was thrown largely upon his own re- sources when a mere boy. He ever reverted with satisfaction that he was enabled at an early age not only to support himself but to care for his loved and devoted mother, to whom he ever accorded the utmost filial so- licitude. In his boyhood days he worked on a farm in Ohio from there going to Pittsburg. Before he had attained the age of twenty years he went from Pittsburg to Newark, Ohio, where he entered the employ of Mr. Bucking- ham, who was then one of the leading mer- chants of the Buckeye state and in whose serv- ice the young Virginian continued for several years, within which he manifested the fidelity and business perspicacity that characterized his entire career, with the result that his em- ployer soon placed him in charge of a branch store near Newark, Ohio. He ever commanded the unqualified confidence and esteem of Mr. Buckingham, and their friendship continued inviolate until the death of the latter. Through industry and frugality Mr. McCarty accumulated within a few years sufficient cap- ital to justify him in beginning an independ- ent business, though necessarily on a modest scale. He was led to investigate the advan- tages and resources of Indiana, and upon com- ing to the little village of Indianapolis, in the autumn of 1823, he became so favorably

impressed with the embryonic capital city that he here took up his residence. Thereafter In- dianapolis represented his home and the cen- ter of his interests until the close of his long and signally useful life. He was a young man of twenty-eight years at the time of his ar- rival in the capital town, and soon afterward he here engaged in the general merchandise business, by establishing himself in a modest store at the southwest corner of Washington and Pennsylvania streets-a location popu- larly designated as McCarty's Corner for a period of more than thirty years thereafter. He was the first merchant to here open a store of any considerable importance, and his establishment thus attracted a large patron- age, according to the conditions then obtain- ing, so that his success was of pronounced order from the initiation of his venture. Con- cerning his business career we can not do bet- ter than to quote, with slight paraphrase, from a previously published sketch of his life appearing in the Commemorative Biographical Record of Indianapolis and Vicinity.

"With a degree of confidence little under- stood in his day, he soon branched out ex- tensively by establishing stores at various points in the state, including Laporte, Green- field, Covington, Cumberland and Waverly. To conduct these branches profitably without neglecting his central establishment he em- ployed many young men, in whom he took a great interest and several of whom attained success in later life. He aimed not only to give them adequate commercial experience but also endeavored to instill into them those ster- ling principles which made him so respected as a man, aside from any reputation he may have won in business life. Mr. McCarty was one of the greatest merchants of his time cen- tral Indiana had ever known. He continued to conduct his original establishment in In- dianapolis for many years and to the south of his store he erected a substantial brick resi- dence, which was the home of his family. On the property which he thus owned is now lo- cated the handsome Century building. Mr. McCarty's enterprise and progressive methods were proverbial in the early days, and the stories of his original and ingenious expedi- ents for overcoming the obstacles that blocked the path of the pioneer merchant warrant the belief that he would have been a leading spirit in any day or under any conditions. But though he maintained his aggressive energy to the last, Mr. McCarty never lowered the high standard of honor with which he set out in life. He never promoted his own interests at the expense of those of another-a character- istic so generally recognized by all who knew

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him that, in spite of the fact that he was not- ably successful, he never excited any but the friendliest feelings among his associates. He shared his prosperity with the communities in which it was won and was ever a generous and public-spirited citizen. But even better than his public benefactions were the various en- terprises he set on foot and which gave profit- able employment to many, besides advancing the welfare of the localities in which they were carried on. One of the early industries in Indiana which for many years was a source of revenne that added substantially to the in- comes of the pioneer residents was the col- lection of ginseng and its preparation for shipment. As early as 1821, following the advice of Philadelphia friends, James Blake came to Indianapolis to investigate the possi- bilities of this business. At that time ginseng grew abundantly in the woods all about the settlement, and as the demand from China was on the increase he arranged to ship the product from Philadelphia. In a little house south of the creek known as Pogue's Run, on the site of the present depot of the Big Four Railroad, he installed a drying and purifying apparatus, where Mr. McCarty collected the roots sent in by the farmers to his place at Indianapolis and his various branch stores. This business, of great benefit to the farmers, was one adjunct to Mr. McCarty's merchandising, barter be- ing common in the early days. Another ven- ture somewhat out of the ordinary was his contracting to supply the Indians, and in the course of this business he became quite famil- iar with the dialects of two or three of the tribes on the Miami reservation".

Ever alert, progressive and legitimately am- bitious not only for personal success but for the advancement of the general welfare of his home town and state, Mr. McCarty's powers of initiative and effective leadership came into play along many important lines aside from the business operations already noted. Thus we find him actively interesting himself in the attempt to introduce the growing of silk in Indiana, about the year 1835. About five years later he initiated one of the most im- portant enterprises incidental to his business career, by his efforts in promoting the cultiva- tion and manufacture of hemp, to the raising of which product he devoted much of his bayou farm near Indianapolis, as well as land in other sections of the state. A considerable portion of this farm is now within the city limits of Indianapolis and is occupied by a number of the city's important industrial plants. Owing to the financial condition of the country at the time, the manufacturing of hemp proved unprofitable to Mr. McCarty, and

he abandoned the same after a period of about three years. He was associated with two others in the erection of the first steam flour mill in the vicinity of Indianapolis, the same having been locatetd on the north side of Washington street, at the end of the National bridge. No citizen had more confidence in the ultimate upbuilding of a populous and prosperous city as the capital of the state than did Mr. McCarty, and in the early days none did more to lay substantial foundations for the same. He purchased in the early days large tracts of land in Marion and other counties of the state, and through the great appreciation in the value of his holdings in the vicinity of Indianapolis his descendants have received large financial returns.

Thus far reference has been made specific- ally to only the business career of the hon- ored subject of this memoir, but it may well be understood that his labors and efforts would transcend this field of endeavor and touch more closely the civic and political affairs of his state. He was well qualified for public service and none had a more deep apprecia- tion of the duties and responsibilities of citi- zenship. He was not a seeker of public office but he had that peculiar aptitude for political manœuvering and direction that would have brought him into much prominence had he cared to enter the domain of practical poli- tics in a more determinate way. He was a zealous advocate of the principles of the Whig party and was influential in its affairs and councils during the period of its gradual decadence, culminating in the organization of the Republican party, within but a short time after his death. He served as commissioner of the canal fund and in this capacity he effected the first loan made to the State of Indiana, his handling of the important inter- ests involved having been so able and success- ful as to gain to him a still stronger hold upon popular confidence and esteem. He eventually resigned this office, prompted by civic honor and by the belief that wrong policies were being pursued in the connection. From an extended editorial appearing in the Indiana Democrat of June 13, 1840, are taken the following brief statements apropos of his ac- tion at this time: "We are not so blinded by party as to be unwilling to award justice to real merit, let it be found in what ranks it may. It is a fact highly creditable to .Indiana that the early negotiations of loans by our fund commissioners were eminently successful. Previous to the passage of the internal im- provement bill of 1836 Nicholas McCarty, the leading merchant of this place, and we believe of the state, stood at the head of that

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commission. When the internal- improvement bill of 1836 was becoming a law Mr. McCarty, as a fund commissioner, plainly told the members of the legislature that it would be a ruinous policy for the state not to provide means at that time to pay interest on the loans to be effected-that if they did not our bonds would soon depreciate. But the Whig members, such as Stapp, Evans and others, would hear no arguments and passed Mr. McCarty's suggestions by as the idle wind, regarding them as a clog to the bill. *

* * The result was that Nicholas McCarty soon afterward resigned the station of fund com- missioner. He was unwilling further to risk his high character as a financier in the ruinous policy the state was about pursuing. * * Few men in the state have more foresight than he. As an instance we refer to a re- markable fact. Knowing, as well he did, the embarrassment this state was running into, he resigned his office as fund commissioner long before the pressure commenced. Possessed of that keen foresight which every real merchant should have, he would not jeopard his char- acter as a merchant to continue connected as an officer with a ruinous system of internal improvement. His proverbial discretion in business and his foresight in financial opera- tions entitle his opinion to much weight". In the same editorial Mr. McCarty is referred to as the "Hoosier Girard", a complimentary comparison with the notable Pennsylvanian, Stephen Girard, and the comment is also made that he was giving his support to Judge Big- ger for governor, because the latter, in the state legislature, opposed the State Bank of Indiana as inimical to the necessity for a United States bank so far as Indiana was concerned.

Subsequent to the year 1843 the Whig party had been held popularly culpable for the de- pressed financial condition of the country and in Indiana it was much in the minority. Un- der these conditions the local representatives of the party naturally sought for a strong popular candidate for Congress-a man whose personal popularity could possibly overcome prejudice against the party. Under such un- favorable conditions, Mr. McCarty became the Whig candidate for Congress in his district in 1847, and though defeated by a small major- ity he showed distinctive strength above the party ticket in general in the district and state, when the star of the Democratic party was at the time much in the ascendancy. Mr. Mc- Carty's opponent was Judge Wick, a practical politician, and relative to the candidacy of Mr. McCarty and the campaign, the following words have been previously published : "Mr.

McCarty made no show of oratory and knew none of the wiles of the politician, but he had executive ability, strong common sense and a clear understanding of the needs of the situa- tion. His addresses were exceedingly effective and did him great credit as against an oppo- nent who was trained to the conduct of cam- paigns and accustomed to public duties. A few years afterward Mr. McCarty was a candi- date for the state Senate and was elected, serv- ing three years-the last three years of state government under the old constitution. He was made chairman of the committee on cor- porations, and as such jealously guarded the interests of the people".

In its somewhat pathetic decline the leaders of the Whig party in Indiana sought in the campaign of 1852 its most eligible candidate for governor-one whose popular strength could not be gainsaid. or whose reputation be legitimately assailed in the least particular. The prominence, activity and high personal character of Nicholas McCarty, the self-made man, the loyal citizen, marked him as the one best adapted to upholding the waning fortunes of the party as standard-bearer for the first gubernatorial term under the new constitution. Naught of lethargy or indirectness of purpose ever characterized Mr. McCarty in any of the relations of life, and after his nomination for governor at the Whig state convention of 1852, in face of his own strenuous opposition, he entered valiantly and ably into the contest. So determined was his opposition to becoming a candidate for the office that he successfully resisted the importunities of the committee chosen to solicit his acceptance of the nomina- tion until George G. Dunn, one of the most gifted men known in the annals of the Hoosier commonwealth, arose and demanded, in the name of the Whigs of Indiana, that Mr. Mc- Carty subordinate his personal interests and wishes and come to the rescue of the party cause. Mr. McCarty felt that he could not consistently make further resistance to the demands of his party, and he reluctantly en- tered the race, having been nominated by acclamation.

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Greater Indianapolis : the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes, Part 6

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