USA > Indiana > Marion County > Indianapolis > Greater Indianapolis : the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes > Part 76
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WILLIAM L. ELDER. a leader in the real estate development of Indianapolis, is a son of John R. Elder and Amelia (Line) Elder. His father, who died in 1908, was a venerable and distinguished citizen, toward whom people of all ages and classes held an attitude character- ized by deep affection and profonnd venera- tion ; what he accomplished for the city and the state is described in a separate biography pub- lished in this history. The son was born and reared in Indianapolis, and after finishing a high school education became a bank clerk in the Old Bank of Commerce. This employment covered some five vears. when he was appointed pavmaster of the Indianapolis. Decatur & Springfield Railroad. He held the latter posi-
tion for four years and during the succeeding decade was engaged in the furniture business at Indianapolis. He was also a director and vice-president of the Indianapolis Street Rail- way Company. Owing to declining health, the result of the confinement necessary to the proper prosecution of this business, Mr. Elder disposed of the furniture business and traveled abroad for six months.
With added vigor and courage, Mr. Elder returned to Indianapolis and engaged in thic real estate business, which has proved con- genial, profitable and successful from every point of view. In this field he has confined himself to the platting and sale of subdivisions, among those which he has thus created and de- veloped being Armstrong Park, North Western Park, Clifton Place, Edgewood, Marion Heights, Cloverdale, Eastern Heights, North Eastern Park and University Heights. The last takes its name from the fact that he there erected the college building, which is now the property of the United Brethren Church and is the nucleus of the university established by that denomination.
Altogether he has platted and sold more than three thousand lots. He has a firm standing as a public-spirited and enterprising citizen. He is an active member of the Commercial, University, Contemporary, Dramatic and Coun- try clubs, is a member of the Board of Incor- porators of Crown Hill Cemetery, and is on the Board of Managers of the Sons of the Rev- olution in Indiana, of which he was the sec- ond president. He is a Democrat in politics and his religious affiliations are with the First Presbyterian Church, in which he has served at various times as trustee and deacon.
In 1885 he married Miss Laura Bowman, of Springfield. Ohio, and the son of this union, Bowman Elder, is a student in the University of Pennsylvania.
WILLIAM EAGLESFIELD. On the roster of the names of those who have been prominently identified with the development and upbuilding of the State of Indiana, that of the late Will- iam Eaglesfield merits a place of honor. From his boyhood days until his death, at an ad- vanced age. he was a resident of this state and in the pioneer epoch, as well as in later years, his energies were effectively directed along nor- mal lines of industry and business enterprise through which was made distinct contribution to the progress of this favored commonwealth. His life was one of signal integrity and useful- ness and such was his association with civic and business affairs in Indianapolis that it is altogether proper that a brief record of his career be perpetuated in this publication.
The Eaglesfield family in America traces its
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lineage to English origin, and the name has been one of special prominence in connection with the history of famous old Oxford College, England. Representatives of the name have also achieved prominence and honors in Amer- ica, where the family was founded in the colo- nial epoch of our national history. William Eaglesfield was born in Butler County. Ohio, on the 12th of June, 1815, and, as the date in- dicates, was a member of one of the pioneer families of the old Buckeye state. He was a son of Theophilus and Phoebe (Gardner) Eaglesfield, and when a mere child became the foster son of Caleb and Mary (Gardner) Scud- der, the latter his aunt in the maternal line. Concerning Caleb Scudder an individual memo- rial tribute appears on other pages of this work.
In 1820, when five years of age, William Eaglesfield came with his foster-parents to In- dianapolis, where he was the first child to be baptized (in 1823) in the First Presbyterian Church. At the time the family removed to Indianapolis the capital city was a mere vil- lage in the midst of the forest, and here young Eaglesfield was reared to maturity. He was given the advantages of the local schools and here laid the foundation for that broad and practical knowledge which he later gained through active association with men and af- fairs. Early in life he identified himself with the saw mill and lumber business, and from 1840 to 1844 he was associated with his brother Thomas in the operation of a saw mill in In- dianapolis. About the year 1848 he removed to Clay County, this state, where he reclaimed and developed a fine farm, becoming the owner of a large tract of land, which is still considered the family homestead, and which is now owned by his descendants. Eaglesfield Station, named in his honor, is located on this old homestead, which is one of the valuable rural demesnes of Clay County. Mr. Eaglesfield remained on the farm until 1865, when he removed to the City of Terre Haute, where he continued his residence until 1877 and where he was identi- fied with various business enterprises. In the vear last mentioned he returned to his farm, to the supervision of which he thereafter gave his attention. His death occurred on the 7th of April, 1888, while visiting his daughter in Indianapolis. He was one of the pioneers in the lumber business in Indiana, was successful in mercantile business and as a farmer and stock grower he was progressive and enterpris- ing, availing himself of methods and appli- ances much in advance of the average farmer of the locality and period. He was a man of marked business acumen and judgment, was of inflexihle integrity in all the relations of life;
was kindly and tolerant in his association with his fellow men and ever commanded the high regard of all who knew him. He was un- assuming in demeanor, had no desire to enter public life, but as citizen was es- sentially loval and liberal, ever ready to lend his influence to the promotion of measures and enterprises projected for the general welfare of the community. In politics he was origi- nally an old-line Whig but upon the organiza- tion of the Republican party transferred his allegiance to the same, and ever afterward gave to its cause his stanch support. Both he and his wife were lifelong members of the Presby- terian Church, and their earnest faith was shown in good works and kindly deeds.
On the 16th of February, 1836, was sol- emnized the marriage of William Eaglesfield and Miss Margaret Elizabeth Townsend. His wife was born at Morganfield, Union County, Kentucky, on the 18th of September, 1817, and she died in Indianapolis, on the 21st of August, 1894. She was a daughter of Hon. James Townsend, who was a native of Mary- land, whence he removed to Kentucky about the year 1808, becoming one of the pioneers of Union County and having there become the founder of Morganfield, the county seat, which town he platted and which was named in his honor. He became a citizen of prominence and influence and served in both branches of the Kentucky legislature. He continued to re- side in the old Bluegrass state until 1829, when he decided to free his slaves. In that year he came to Indiana, and the greater number of his former slaves showed their loyalty and af- fection by accompanying him. He settled in Putnam County, where he laid out the present town of Putnamville, and his force and abil- itv here also made him a factor in public af- fairs. He was called upon to represent Put- nam County in the state legislature and also served in various local offices. He finally re- moved to Clay County, where he died in 1851, at the age of sixty-five years.
William and Margaret. Elizabeth (Towns- end) Eaglesfield became the parents of two sons and seven daughters, whose names are here entered in respective order of birth: Mar- tha, born August 29, 1837; Helen Scudder, January 12, 1840; Harriett Catharine, August 17, 1843; Mary Margaret, February 1, 1846; died November 11. 1901; Isabel, born August 13. 1848 ; Jenny Lind, January 11, 1851, died February 5, 1883; Elizabeth, born June 29, 1853; James T., September 29, 1856; Caleb Scudder, March 14, 1860.
James Theophilus Eaglesfield, the elder of the two sons, was born in Clay County, In- diana, on the 29th of September, 1856, as
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stated, received a collegiate education and is now one of the representative business men of Indianapolis, where he is president of The Eaglesfield Company, engaged in the lumber business and in the operation of a planing mill, and where he is also a member of the firm of Eaglesfield & Shepard, engaged in the hard- wood lumber trade. He is a stanch Repub- lican in politics and served as deputy state treasurer under Roswell S. Hill. He married Miss Carina B. Campbell and they have five children, namely:' Robert Davy, Margaret, Carina, Dorothea and Virginia.
Caleb Scudder Eaglesfield, the younger of the two sons of the honored subject of this memoir, was born in Clay County, this state, on the 14th of March, 1860, and is likewise numbered among the progressive and success- ful business men of the capital city, where he is president of The Eaglesfield-Stewart Company, manufacturers of parquetry and hardwood flooring. He married Miss Cora M. La Rue and they have four children, namely : Helen Isabel, born July 20, 1890; Thomas Russell, January 25, 1892; John La Rue, July 23, 1895; and William, February 15, 1898.
CALEB SCUDDER. All the manifold advan- tages and opulent prosperity represented in the fair capital city of Indiana at the present day far transcend the conditions that marked the present metropolis of the state at the time when Caleb Scudder here took up his abode, and yet to him and other worthy pioneers is to be accredited the laying of the secure founda- tion on which a great city has been reared. He was one of the first settlers of Indianapolis, was the third to be chosen its mayor, was one of its substantial business men in the formative period, wielded benign influence in connection with civic affairs and left a definite impress on the early history of the city. Commanding the most unqualified confidence and esteem in his lifetime, it is but due that now that he has passed away, there should be given a token of remembrance and appreciation in a work devoted to the city in which he was a sterling pioneer and in which he continued to reside until his death, on the 9th of March, 1866.
Caleb Scudder was born at Trenton, New Jersey. on the 18th of January. 1795, and was of stanch English lineage. The family was founded in America in the colonial era and representatives of the same early established residence in New Jersey, where the subject of this memoir was reared to maturity, receiving excellent educational advantages, according to the standard of the day, and there learning the trade of cabinetmaker, in which he became a specially skillful artisan. Upon coming to the west, he first took up his abode in Ohio, and
thus his name is to be enrolled as a pioneer of the Buckeye state as well as of Indiana. In February, 1820, Mr. Scudder came with his family from Ohio to Indianapolis, which fu- ture metropolis was then represented by the primitive log houses of the few settlers, of whom there were not more than seven or cight families. He established his home in a log structure standing opposite the present capitol, on West Washington street, and this building served also as his cabinet shop. He found much requisition for his services in the work of his trade, and it is but reasonable to believe that there are yet in existence numerous specimens of his fine handicraft, for the articles manu- factured by him bore the stamp of genuine solidity and endurance, having been literally "built upon honor". But few pieces of his cabinet work can now be positively identi- fied, and in view of this fact there is special gratification in referring to one now in the pos- session of his grandson, Caleb Scudder Eagles- field, of Indianapolis, who treasures the same as an heirloom and also as a specimen of the finest workmanship. This is a small sewing table with two drawers, made of solid mahog- any and with hand-carving in effective pine- apple design. This table was made in 1829, and Mr. Eaglesfield also has an unique walnut bedstead, of antique type but artistic embellish- ment, that was made by Mr. Scudder in 1824. In a reminiscent wav reference should also be made to an ancient decd, in an excellent state of preservation, now in possession of Mr. Eaglesfield. This is the original document deeding to Caleb Scudder, under date of Feb- ruary 17, 1833, lot No. 9 of lot No. 47,-the present northeast corner of West Market street and Capitol avenue, in the very business cen- ter of Indianapolis,-for a consideration of one hundred dollars. On this lot Mr. Scudder erected a comfortable residence in which he lived about thirty years and which was the place of his death, at the age of seventy-one years.
Mr. Scudder and his wife were zealous and devout members of the Presbyterian Church, were identified with the organization of the first church of this denomination in Indian- apolis and were earnest supporters of all move- ments and agencies tending to advance the moral and civic wellbeing of the community. The "Union Sunday School," organized in 1823 and drawing its support from all Protestant denominations represented in the little village, had its first meetings in the cab- inet shop of Mr. Scudder, and he was one of the most prominent in its affairs. James Blake was the first superintendent of this school. In 1835 was organized the "Marion Fire Engine,
Jours July Caleb Scudder
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Hose & Protection Company", and Caleb Scud- der became the first captain of this primitive organization, which did effective work in the protection of the embryonic city. A man of fine mentality, progressive ideas and much pub- lic spirit, Mr. Scudder was well equipped for leadership in thought and action, and he was ever foremost in the support of measures ad- vanced for the general good of the community. As has already been stated, he had the distinc- tion of being chosen the third mayor of In- dianapolis, and it is a matter of recorded his- tory that he gave a most careful and effective administration as chief executive of the mu- nicipal government. He never manifested aught of ostentation, but in a quiet, earnest and dignified way pursued the even tenor of his course, doing good to his fellow men and prov- ing himself worthy in all the relations of life. He married Miss Mary Gardner. She was a noble wife and helpmeet and was possessed of that strong character and gentle sympathy which made her a loved and cherished figure in the pioneer community. Mr. and Mrs. Scud- der had no children, but they reared as their own son William Eaglesfield, their nephew, to whom a specific memoir is entered on other pages of this volume.
The following earnest and gentle poem, writ- ten by Mr. Scudder, under date of June 4, 1856, signified his attitude as he viewed the changing conditions and found himself bereft of practically all of the associates of earlier years :
A single withered leaf is left Upon the forest tree, By angry winds and storms bereft Of 'other company. And though its friends have long since gone, The withered leaf still clingeth on.
So one fond hope within my breast Remaineth there alone,
Unlike the falsely flattering rest That long, long since have flown.
This single hope still clingeth there To save my soul from dark despair.
It is that when my hour shall come To lie beneath the sod,
That angels take my spirit home To dwell in peace with God. Let storms assail me as they will, This one blest hope sustains me still.
JAMES DONALD PEIRCE is numbered among , the representative younger members of the bar of the Indiana capital, has served as assistant prosecuting attorney of Marion County, and in
January, 1910, he retired from the office of assistant city attorney. In the direct work of his profession and as a public official he has made an admirable record and he is one of the popular representatives of his profession in Indianapolis, where his success has been on a parity with his well recognized ability as a trial lawyer and duly conservative and well fortified counselor.
Mr. Peirce claims the Hawkeye state as the place of his nativity, having been born in the City of Keokuk, lowa, on the 7th of June, 1875, and being a son of Chandler H. and Ada Mary (Crawford) Peirce, the former of whom was born at South Charleston, Ohio, in 1847, being a son of Jacob Peirce, who was one of the sterling pioneers of that section of the state, where he became seized of three thousand acres of land. Mrs. Peirce was born in the City of Cincinnati, Ohio, was graduated in Oxford College, that state, and is now a resi- dent of New York City. The ancestry of the Peirce family is traced back to stanch Scottish origin, and a representative of the name left his native land and took up his abode in the north of Ireland, whence came the founders of the family in America. The Crawford and Armstrong families, of which latter Mrs. Peirce was a representative in the maternal line, set- tled in New York City in the colonial epoch of our national history.
Chandler H. Peirce was a man of high in- tellectual attainments and attained wide repu- tation as a successful educator and as a pub- lisher of school text-books, in connection with which line of enterprise he was established in business for a number of years in Keokuk, Iowa, and later in the City of Chicago. He finally retired from business and he passed the closing years of his long, useful and honorable life in the City of Denver, Colorado, where he died in October, 1900, secure in the esteem and confidence of all who had known him. He was a valiant soldier of the Union in the Civil War. At the age of seventeen years he enlisted in Company D, Forty-fourth Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, with which command he experienced his full quota of arduous and prolonged service, taking part in a number of important battles marking the progress of the great internecine conflict and having served for some time as private secretary to General Meigs. At Bev- erly, West Virginia, he was captured by the enemy and he was held in duress in the infamous old Libby prison for some time ; there his services were called into requisition by the authorities in charge, for whom he acted in the capacity of bookkeeper. He was finally liber- ated and in due course of time he was mus- tered out and received his honorable discharge.
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HISTORY OF GREATER INDIANAPOLIS.
Henry C. G. Bals was born in Indianapolis on the 1st of February, 1853, and is a son of Charles H. G. and Christina (Lout) Bals, whose home at the time of his birth was at the northwest corner of Delaware and St. Jo- seph streets. Charles H. G. Bals, Sr., was born in Germany, on the 17th of September, 1822, and was reared and educated in his fatherland, whence he came to America as a youth, having taken up his residence in In- dianapolis in 1839 and having thus become one of the pioneer German citizens of the In- diana capital, which has every reason to be proud of its many citizens of German- birth or lineage, in the past as well as at the present time. This honored pioneer was actively iden- tified with business interests in Indianapolis until his death, which occurred, on the 12th of December, 1876. His wife was a native of Germany, and of their children only one is now living, E. Bertha, who is the wife of John Wocher, of Indianapolis.
The subject of the memoir gained his early educational training in the German and Eng- lish schools of Indianapolis and for two years he pursued higher academic studies at Earlham College, in Richmond, this state, from which he was graduated. He then entered the law department of historic old Harvard University, where he continued for about two years. A man of active and alert mentality and of marked initiative ability, it was but natural that business life should appeal to him rather than the intricacies and monotonous routine of the legal profession, and he gave but little prac- tical allegiance to the latter, though his tech- nical knowledge was of great value to him in his business career, concerning which the fol- lowing brief but pertinent statements were made in a local paper at the time of his death: "Mr. Bals was for many years one of the best known business men of Indianapolis. For sev- eral years he was vice-president of the Mer- chants' National Bank; then chief clerk in the office of the clerk of Marion County, under John R. Wilson ; next secretary of the Union Trust Company ; and finally secretary and treas- urer of the A. Kiefer Drug Company, one of the most important commercial concerns of the capital city. From his official position with this company failing health compelled him to retire about six years prior to his death. At one time he was a director in not less than six different business corporations."
As a citizen he was ever liberal and public- spirited, and his affection for and interest in his native city was of the most loyal and unwaver- ing type. Though a stanch advocate of the principles of the Democratic party, he 'had no desire for public office. He was a charter
member of the Indianapolis Commercial Club and was also a member of the Board of Trade. He was identified with the Indiana Harvard Alumni Association and held membership in other social organizations of representative or- der. Mr. Bals was a most appreciative student and reader and his private library, selected with great care, was made one of the best private collections in the state. He was a connoisseur in the matter of engravings and etchings, and his interest in this line of art production was of most earnest and appreciative order. He made a large collection of costly prints and this collection of engravings and etchings is recognized as one of the best in the United States, as it includes many rare prints of much value and the best specimens of all schools in this line of art. At the time of his death he was a member of the board of cor- porators of Crown Hill cemetery, in which his remains were laid to rest. He was an attend- ant of the First Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Bals was twice married. He wedded first Miss Amelia Shoppenhorst, who died leav- ing no children. On the 8th of November, 1882, was solemnized his marriage to Miss Car- rie L. Tarlton, who was born and reared in Indianapolis and who was a daughter of the late James A. Tarlton, an honored and influ- ential citizen of this state for many years prior to his demise. Mrs. Bals was summoned to the life eternal. on the 19th of October, 1905, and is survived by two children,-Bertha Au- gusta, who is the wife of Harry Ribeyre Fit- ton, an officer of the Builders' Realty Company of Indianapolis, and Wilson Tarlton, who was graduated in Culver Military Academy, at Cul- ver, Indiana, and who is now connected with the Builders' Realty Company at Indianapolis.
FREDERICK A. Joss. To have gained marked prestige as one of the most able and suc- cessful members of the bar of Indiana has been the good fortune of the Hon. Frederick A. Joss, member of the prominent firm of Jame- son & Joss, and Jameson, Joss & Hay. His intellectual and professional abilities are of the most substantial order, in addition to which he possesses a resourcefulness in emergency which has perhaps contributed more to his rather unique success, than any other one quality.
Mr. Joss was born at Centerville, Michigan, the county seat of St. Joseph County, on May 5, 1867. He is the son of Captain John C. Joss and Mary Moore (Merrell) Joss. His father was born and reared in Germany, though of Swiss parentage on both sides, and his mother was born in Chautauqua County, New York, of sturdy New England Puritan stock. Captain John C. Joss possessed a fine mind finely trained. He was educated at the cele-
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brated German Universities of Heidelberg and Halle, and soon afterwards, in 1856, came to America. His father (the grandfather of Frederick A. Joss) was John Joss, who had served with distinction in the German army. He lived to an old age, and passed the closing years of his life in the village of Constantine, Michigan, where he lived practically retired. In recognition of his distinguished services in the army of his fatherland the German gov- ernment gave him a liberal pension.
Some time after Captain John C. Joss came to this country; in 1856 he became the editor of the Constantine Commercial Advertiser, a pioneer newspaper of Michigan influence in Western Michigan. A few years later he re- sponded to the first call for troops for the de- fense of the Union, and enlisted in Company A, Second Regiment, Michigan Volunteer In- fantry, a regiment which served gallantly in the Army of the Potomac. He rose rapidly to the rank of captain and served for more than three years until he received the injury which rendered impossible his further service in the field. He had participated in seventeen of the most important battles of the war, in- cluding both battles of Bull Run, the bloody engagements of Chantilly and Fair Oaks, and the siege of Vicksburg.
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