USA > Indiana > Marion County > Indianapolis > Greater Indianapolis : the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes > Part 78
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No eitizen of Indianapolis is more distinctive- ly loyal, enthusiastic and public spirited than is George G. Tanner, and this fact is empha- sized in his active association with the. work
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of that well ordered and progressive body, the Indianapolis Board of Trade, through whose agency has to a large extent been conserved the rapid industrial development of the city within the past two decades. He has been specially active in the work of this civic or- ganization, and on the 19th of June, 1884, he was elected a member of its board of governors, of which position he continued incumbent for the ensuing four years. Since that time he has several times been re-elected a governor of the board, and of this position he is in tenure at the time of this writing. In 1888 he was elected vice-president of the Board of Trade, serving one year, at the expiration of which he was called to the presidency of the body, giving an admirable administration as chief executive and being chosen as his own successor at the expiration of his term of one year. He was the first member of the organization to he elected president for more than one term, and it is a matter of record that the board enjoyed unprecedented prosperity under his leadership.
Mr. Tanner has given his co-operation in the promotion and upbuilding of other im- portant industrial and business enterprises in his native city. He was the organizer of the Morewood Tin Plate Manufacturing Company, which was capitalized for six hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and was its vice-president for several years,-until its interests were merged with those of the American Tin Plate Com- pany. He was one of those enterprising citi- zens who made possible the erection of the mag- nificent Claypool Hotel, at a cost of one mil- lion dollars, thus giving to Indianapolis a thor- oughly metropolitan hotel structure, and he is still a stockholder and director of the Indiana Hotel Company, which owns and operates the Claypool. He was one of the organizers and incorporators of the Marion Trust, Company, incorporated with a capital stock of three hun- dred thousand dollars, and was a member of its directorate for many years. Today this cor- poration's stock has the distinction of being quoted at a higher figure than any other local stock in Indianapolis, being valued at three hundred and ninety-five dollars a share. Mr. Tanner also brought his splendid constructive and executive powers into effective play when he organized the Crown Potteries Company, which is incorporated with a capital of four hundred thousand dollars and which now rep- resents one of the substantial and important industrial concerns of the state. He has been an organizer and principal in numerous finan- cial concerns, to many of which he has given support more for the purpose of aiding others and forwarding the industrial and commercial precedence of Indianapolis than with the idea
of securing special personal benefits therefrom. It has well been said that the name of George G. Tanner in business ventures is a synonym of honest dealing and substantial success, and that he is yet in the prime of life, with an activity of thought and intellect that marks the "man who does things".
Mr. Tanner has manifested a lively interest in politics, but has never been animated with any desire for public office, having repeatedly declined overtures to become a candidate for position of distinctive trust and responsibility. His only deviation from his rule of procedure in this respect was made in 1893, when, at the request of President Cleveland, he accepted the position of collector of customs for the port of Indianapolis, which office he retained for more than four years. Of his administra- tion of the same the following statements have been given: "It is on record that the depart- ment at Washington immediately recognized the value of his system of blanks, and put them in use in all other important ports of entry. It is also a matter of record that the govern- ment examiner of such offices reported this one, as conducted by Mr. Tanner, to be superior to and a worthy model for all similar offices".
In civic affairs of a local order Mr. Tanner has been an influential factor, and his course has been dominated by generous public spirit and utmost enthusiasm. He was one of those prominently identified with the securing to In- dianapolis of its present city charter, whose provisions have been of great benefit in the municipal government, and he was chairman of the committee which drafted these provisions of the admirable charter. He was chairman of the committee that received President Har- rison on the occasion of the dedication of the magnificent Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument in Indianapolis, the finest and most imposing memorial of its kind in the country and one that is a source of unalloyed civic pride. He was chairman of the reception committee for Indiana at the Pan-American Congress, and also of the Universal Postal Congress. He is actively identified with the Columbia, Univer- sity, Country and Transportation Clubs of In- dianapolis. He is also a member of the Loyal Legion and is an honorary member of the G. A. R.
Mr. Tanner is well known to the citizens of Indianapolis, where his circle of friends is co- incident with that of his acquaintances, as he is thoroughly democratic, genial and sociable. Progressiveness and energy have ever marked his management of the various affairs in which he has been concerned; he has the finesse of the intuitive business man, being diplomatic' and ever maintaining admirable equipoise, so
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that he is able the more effectively to direct the work of others. He holds a secure place in the confidence and esteem of the community and has contributed in large measure to the advancement and development of his native city, in whose still greater commercial and civic progress he is a firm believer.
On the 2nd of October, 1882, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Tanner to Miss Kate Bock, who was born in the City of Adrian, Lenawee County, Michigan, and who is a daugh- ter of the late Charles F. Bock, who was a native of Buffalo, New York, and was a prom- inent hardware merchant in Battle Creek, Mich- igan, at the time of his death. Mr. and Mrs. Tanner became the parents of five children, of whom two are living,-Gordon B. and Kath- erine. The family is prominent in the best social activities of the capital city and the at- tractive home, at 1405 North Delaware street, is known for its gracious hospitality. Gordon B. Tanner is associated with his father's busi- ness, holding the position of manager, and is one of the popular and representative young business men of Indianapolis.
HON. LINTON A. Cox, among the ablest of the younger practitioners at the Indianapolis bar, is also a leading Republican of the state. He is a native of Azalia, Indiana, born Sep- tember 2, 1868, and graduated from Earlham College in 1888 and from the Law School of the Michigan University in 1890. Mr. Cox represented Marion County in the state senate of Indiana during the Sixty-fifth and Sixty- sixth general assemblies. Among the best known measures which he successfully cham- pioned was the hill (of which he was the au- thor) which fixed the price of gas in Indian- apolis at sixty cents per thousand. He not only drew and introduced the bill, but pushed it through both houses of the legislature, and never lost sight of it until it was engrossed among the laws of the state. He also was a factor in establishing the system of depositories for public funds, under which all public funds are held in official depositories under ample security and vield interest to the public. Mr. Cox is a married man. his wife, Elizabeth, being a daughter of Dr. Thomas Harvey of Indian- apolis.
FRED C. GARDNER. Of all the manifold agencies that have contributed to the indus- trial and commercial prestige of Indianapolis and carried the city's fame throughout the civilized 'world, none can claim precedence of that of the great saw manufactory. of E. C. Atkins & Company, and of this noteworthy concern. with whose interests he has been iden- tified from his youth to the present time, Fred C. Gardner is now the assistant treasurer, hav-
ing risen to this responsible preferment through his able and faithful service and being now one of the substantial stockholders of the com- pany. He is essentially one of the representa- tive business men and progressive and loyal citizens of the Indiana capital and is well en- titled to consideration in this publication.
Fred C: Gardner has been a resident of In- dianapolis since his boyhood days, but reverts to Illinois as the place of his nativity, having been born on a farm in Dewitt County, that state, on the 23d of August, 1863, and being a son of Anson J. and Mary (Watson) Gard- ner, the former of whom was born in Ohio, on the 13th of September, 1831, and the latter of whom was born in Illinois, on the 24th of January, 1845, being a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of that state. Concerning the four children of this union the following brief data are incorporated: Jose- phine is the wife of Henry C. Martin, of In- dianapolis; Fred C., subject of this review, was the next in order of birth; Charles is a resi- dent of Indianapolis, and the fourth child, a son, died in infancy.
Anson J. Gardner was reared and educated in his native state and as a young man he re- moved to Dewitt County, Illinois, where he se- cured government land and eventually became the owner of about three thousand acres. He gained prestige as one of the extensive farmers and stock-growers of that state and made a specialty of the breeding of high-grade short- horn cattle. In 1875 he disposed of his in- terests in Illinois and removed with his family to Indianapolis, where he engaged in the buy- ing and shipping of grain, in which line he built up a large and prosperous business and continued in active operations until 1901, after which he lived virtually retired until his death, which occurred on the 8th of January, 1906. He was one of the substantial business men and honored citizens of Indianapolis, where he ever commanded unqualified popular es- teem. He gave his allegiance to the Repub- lican party. was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and both he and his wife, who died on the 9th of January, 1906, the day following his death, were zealous mem- bers of the Second Presbyterian Church.
Fred C. Gardner gained his rudimentary edu- cation in the public schools of his native coun- ty and was thirteen years of age at the time of the family removal to Indianapolis, where he was afforded the advantages of the city schools. At the age of seventeen years he se- cured the position of office hoy for E. C. Atkins & Company, and through his well directed ef- forts with this concern he has risen through the various grades of promotion until he has
Des Plansmanue
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become one of the chief executive officers of the company, having served for some time as assistant treasurer and having been incumbent of this office since 1900. More detailed men- tion of the great corporation is made in the memorial tribute to its founder, the late Elias C. Atkins, on other pages of this work. It is but natural to infer that a man whose ambi- tion has been one of such decisive order and who has achieved so much, could not be lack- ing in public spirit and civic loyalty, and along these lines Mr. Gardner has made his influ- ence felt in connection with the industrial progress of the capital city, giving his aid and influence in support of measures and enter- prises tending to advance the best interests of Greater Indianapolis, to which his fealty is of the most unequivocal order.
Mr. Gardner has been an enthusiastic worker in behalf of the cause of the Republican party and is a valued factor in its local camp. He is at the present time treasurer of each the Marion County Republican Club and the Re- publican city committee of Indianapolis. He is also ex-treasurer of Butler College, at Irving- ton, one of the leading educational institutions of the state. is treasurer of the Marion Club, and also holds membership in the Columbia Club, the German House, and the Indianapolis Maennerchor. In the Masonic fraternity his affiliations are here noted : Oriental Lodge No. 500, Free and Accepted Masons ; Keystone Chapter No. 6, Royal Arch Masons; Raper Commandery No. 1, Knights Templar; In- diana Sovereign Consistory, of the Ancient Ac- cepted Scottish Rite, in which he has attained to the thirty-second degree, and Murat Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He and his wife are zealous and valued members of the Central Christian Church of Indianapolis and are active in the various departments of its work.
On the 28th of November, 1883, Mr. Gard- ner was united in marriage to Miss Cara E. Davis, who was born in Franklin County, In- diana, on the 1st of October, 1862, and who is a daughter of William M. and Mary Jane (Jones) Davis. Mr. Davis was born a Nicholasville, Kentucky, on the 14th of Octo- ber, 1837, and died in Indianapolis on the 9th of Julv, 1882. His widow, who still resides in this city, was born in Johnson County, Indiana, on the 6th of March, 1837, and is a member of one of the sterling pioneer families of this state. Upon coming to Indiana Mr. Davis lo- cated at Franklin. Johnson County, where he was engaged in the general merchandise busi- ness for a number of vears. after which he caine to Indianapolis, where he became senior member of the firm of Davis & Cole and con-
tinued to be engaged in the dry-goods business until the time of his death. He was affiliated with Capital City Lodge No. 312, Free and Accepted Masons, and had served as master of the same, and was also identified with Raper Commandery, Knights Templar, and attained the thirty-second degree in the Ancient Ac- cepted Scottish Rite. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, and held membership in the Central Christian Church, of which Mrs. Davis also had long been a devoted member. Mr. and Mrs. Gardner have two daughters,- Mary Elizabeth and Margaret Lucy.
HENRY W. KLAUSMANN. The able and pop- ular incumbent of the office of city engineer of Indianapolis is Henry W. Klausmann, and he claims Illinois as the place of his nativity, having been born in Centralia, Marion County, that state, on the 2nd of September, 1868, and being a son of Henry and Ernestina (Hanssler) Klausmann, both of whom were born in Ger- many, where they were reared and educated. The father learned the trade of cabinetmaker in his native land and as a young man he im- migrated to America, where he followed the work of his trade for many years. Henry Klausmann died November 21, 1909. He was a Republican in politics and he and his wife held membership in the Christian Science Church. Mrs. Klausmann is living in Indian- apolis. Of their three children two are living, of whom the elder is Henry W., of this sketch : Lena is the wife of Rudolph H. Henning, who is a printer by vocation and employed at his trade in Indianapolis.
Henry W. Klausmann has been a resident of Indianapolis since 1878. His early educa- tional training was secured in the public schools and was supplemented by special instruction in higher mathematics, under a private tutor. At an early age he entered upon an apprentice- ship at the trade of wood-carving, devoting him- self to acquiring facility in this work during his school vacations. Later he gave his atten- tion to the study and practical work of archi- tecture, and finally he prepared himself thor- oughly for the profession of civil engineering, to which he has devoted his attention as a vo- cation since 1891. He was appointed county surveyor in 1901, and by three successive elec- tions to this office he continued incumbent of the same until January, 1910, when he was appointed to the office of city engineer by Mayor Shane. He had previously served six years as deputy county surveyor and this experience, as coupled with his technical ability, made him specially eligible for the positions which he occupied and in which he has carried through
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of a well prepared volume of six hundred pages, entitled 'Education in Indiana', which set forth in a definite, systematic way the distinct features of the Indiana system, and of an attractive display of the actual work done in the public schools of the state. The educa- tional legislation during Mr. Cotton's admin- istration marked a distinct advance in Indiana educational history, and the laws thus placed on the statutes may be said to stand for things that he has been earnestly working for.
"While it may be said that Mr. Cotton's work as an educator will be measured by what he has accomplished, there is one factor that should be mentioned and that can not be meas- ured,-and that is the manhood of the man. Those who know him can not but be im- pressed with the fact that he is genuine, and that his sole ambition has been and is to make life and living in the world better than he found them."
Mr. Cotton has found in his new, field of endeavor scope for the generous accomplish- ment of lofty purposes as an educator, and the State of Wisconsin has gained much in the enlistment of his services. In politics Mr. Cot- ton gives his allegiance to the Republican party and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Christian Church. He is identified with various educational associations and other civic organizations and as a citizen ,he is essentially loyal, liberal and progressive ..
Mr. Cotton has been twice married. In 1885 he wedded Miss Florence N. Wright, who is survived by two children, Irwin W. and Carol W., who remain at the paternal home. In 1903 was solemnized his marriage to Miss Lena L. Dobson, of Indianapolis, who was born and reared in Summitville, Indiana. The family continued to reside in Indianapolis from 1895 until July 1, 1909, when they removed to the new home in the City of LaCrosse, Wisconsin.
MILLEDGE A. BAKER. The name of Milledge A. Baker is prominently associated with the business life of Indianapolis and is especially prominent as the vice-president of the Capital Lumber Company, the largest corporation of its kind in this city or in the entire State of Indiana, thus ranking Mr. Baker among. the most prominent business men of the city. He came to Indianapolis with his parents in 1868, when a lad of five years, and completing his education in its public schools he spent one year at the molder's trade. He then learned the carpenter's trade and was a church organ builder for two years, and at the close of that period connected himself with the lumber busi- ness and later took an interest with the West Side Planing Mill Company, which in 1902 was merged with the Capital Lumber Company
and Mr. Baker was made the vice-president of the consolidated company. They have four plants and yards in Indianapolis, and the Cap- ital Lumber Company stands at the front in the industrial circles of Indiana.
Milledge A. Baker was born in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, March 15, 1863, as were also his parents, Obediah and Rachel (Gates) Baker, both of whom are living, the father at the age of seventy-four and the mother at seventy-two. Of the five children born of their marriage union four are now living, and Milledge A. was the first born. Obediah Baker came to Indiana in 1868, and located on land in Marion County which is now known as Brightwood, and was engaged in farming and stock raising there until his retirement in 1906. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and affiliates with the Republican party.
Milledge A. Baker married Lorena B. Rankin in April of 1885. She was born in Morgan County, Indiana, to George I. and Mary (Hin- kle) Rankin, both of whom had their nativity in Kentucky. George I. Rankin survives his wife, who died in 1903, and has reached the sev- enty-fourth milestone on his life's pilgrimage. Of the four children which were born of their marriage, three daughters and a son, the daugh- ter Lorena was the third in order of birth. Five of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Baker are living, namely: Margaret E., Mur- rin,. Ada B., Milledge A. and Oscar T. Mr. Baker is a member of the Masonic order, affil- iating with Center Lodge No. 23 and with Keystone Chapter No. 6, and he is also a mem- ber of Indianapolis Lodge No. 56, K. of P.
AUGUSTIN BOICE has been engaged in the practice of law in Indianapolis for more than thirty years and has long held precedence as one of the leading members of the bar of the capital city and such is his professional stand- ing and such the high regard in which he is held as a loyal and upright citizen that there is special propriety in according him recogni- tion in this history of "Greater Indianapolis" and its people. He is an honored veteran of the Civil War, in which he rendered gallant and prolonged service in the cause of the Union and in 'the "piping times of peace" he has won victories of equal worthiness.
Like many another who has achieved dis- tinction in a learned profession, Augustin Boice was born and reared on a farm. He is a na- tive of Cheshire township, Gallia County, Ohio, where he was ushered into the world on the 1st of December, 1842. He is a son of Jacob and Mary Stevens (Bradbury) Boice, and is a scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of the fine' old Buckeye commonwealth. Jacob Boice was born in Fayette County, Pennsyl-
Augustin Bocce
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HISTORY OF GREATER INDIANAPOLIS.
vania, on the 14th of November, 1811, and was a son of Joseph and Keziah (Bowman) Boice, both of whom were natives of New Jer- sey. In 1820 the family left the old Keystone state and removed to Ohio, establishing a home in the wilds of Cheshire Township, Gallia County, where the father reclaimed a farm from the virgin forest. The mother of the subject of this sketch was the eldest daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Stevens) Bradbury and was a native of the State of Maine, where she was born on the 28th of January, 1804. She accompanied her parents on their removal to Ohio in the early pioneer epoch in the his- tory of that state. She was in the seventh gen- eration of direct descent from Thomas Brad- bury, the immigrant, who settled in New Eng- land at least as early as 1634. The latter's wife, Mary (Perkins) Bradbury, was a daugh- ter of John Perkins of Ipswich, Massachusetts. Mary (Perkins) Bradbury arrived with her father's family in Boston from Bristol, Eng- land, on the ship "Lyon" February 5, 1631, and Roger Williams, a noted and historical character, was a fellow-passenger. Interesting but sombre is the following record concern- ing Mary (Perkins) Bradbury :
"The evidence shows that Mrs. Bradbury was a Christian woman of high character, stand- ing and ability, yet when about eighty years of age she fell a victim to the witchcraft craze, and in July, 1692, was arrested, tried and con- victed of the alleged crime of bewitching John Carr. She escaped execution for some unex- plained reason, but probably because the whole infamous business broke down under its own horrors before her turn came. The character of the evidence used against her is shown by the following interesting specimen: William Carr, in his deposition, testified that: 'About thirteen years ago, presently after some differ- ence that happened to be between my honored father, Mr. George Carr, and Mrs. Bradbury, the prisoner at bar, upon a Sabbath at noon, as we were riding home by the house of Cap- tain Thomas Bradbury, I saw Mrs. Bradbury go into her gate, turn the corner of, and im- mediately there darted out of the gate a blue boar, and darted at my father's horse's legs, which made him stumble; but I saw it no more. And my father said, "Boys, what did you see ?" And we both said, "A blue boar".' Mrs. Brad- bury, was defended by Major Robert Pike, of whom a historian of the Salem witchcraft de- lusion says: 'Not a voice comes down to us of deliberate and effective hostility to the move- ment, except that of Robert Pike in his cool, close and powerful argumentative appeal to the judges who were trying the witchcraft cases. It stands out against the deep blackness of those
proceedings like a pillar of light upon a star- less midnight sky.' "
Mr. Boice is also a direct descendant from Major Pike through his daughter Sarah, who became the wife of Rev. John Storkman. He is also descended from Rev. John Wheelwright, of Boston.
Thomas Bradbury was born in Essex County, England, in 1610, and early in 1634 he ap- peared in Agamenticus, now Yorke, Maine, as the agent of Sir Fernando Gorges, the pro- prietor of the Province of Maine. He was one of the founders of Salisbury, Massachusetts, and was one of its most influential citizens for more than half a century. He rendered effi- cient service as schoolmaster of the town and was incumbent of the position of town clerk, served as deputy to the general court, was for a time county recorder, was associate judge of the local court and also was captain of a local military company.
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