Greater Indianapolis : the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes, Part 88

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 88

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Horatio S. Reed was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and continued to be associated in its work and management until he had attained to the age of twenty- four years, in the meanwhile having duly availed himself of the privileges of the com- mon schools of the locality and period. He learned the trade of carpenter and after his marriage he continued in the work of the same in Niagara County, New York, until 1857, when he removed with his family to Paxton, Illinois, where he eventually became a prominent contractor and builder and where he maintained his home until 1880, when he removed to Wichita, Kansas, where he continued in the same line of enterprise for some time. He then became associated

with others in the founding of the town of Harper, Harper County, Kansas, and he con- tributed materially to the upbuilding of the village, in which he continued to reside until 1885, when he removed to .Paris, Illinois, which place represented his home until 1898, when he removed to Asotin, Washington, where he is now living virtually retired, his cherished and devoted wife having been sum- moned to the life eternal on the 14th of March, 1896. At Harper, Kansas, he was called upon to serve in various offices of pub- lic trust, and he has been a 'stanch supporter of the cause of the Republican party from the time of its organization. He has been identified with the Masonic fraternity since 1868 and has long been a devoted member of the Baptist Church, of which his wife also was a zealous adherent.

The paternal grandparents of him whose name initiates this article were Shubel Hale Reed and Sarah Kassier (Throop) Reed, the former of whom was born in the town of Tol- land, Tolland County, Connecticut, on the 18th of April, 1801, and the latter was a na- tive of Middlebury, Vermont. Their mar- riage was solemnized at Bergen, Genesee County, New York, on the 19th of January, 1826, and they passed the closing years of their lives in Genesee County, where Mr. Reed died on the 27th of March, 1883, and where his wife passed away on the 26th of August, 1889. The lineage is traced back to Thomas Reed, Esq., of Barton Court, in Berkshire, England, who was there living in 1575. This worthy ancestor married Ann, the daughter of Thomas 'Hoo, Esq., of Hoo, Hertfordshire, and their son Thomas, of Bar- ton, married Mary Stonehouse, of Little Peckham, in the County of Kent. This Thomas Reed served as clerk of the Green Cloth. Thomas Reed (III), son of Thomas and Mary (Stonehouse) Reed, received the order of knighthood from the Crown and was a man of much influence in his county. He married Mary, daughter of Sir John Brocket, of Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire, and they be- came the parents of three sons and two daughters. Their sons, Thomas, John and James all became baronets, and the eldest of these, Thomas, married Mary, daughter of Thomas Cornwall, lord of Shropshire. The children of this union were Compton, Ed- ward, Thomas, William and John. The last three mentioned came to America and John located on the site of the present city of Bos- ton, where he married and reared a family of children. He was an influential factor in lo- cal affairs of the colony and records extant refer to him as Hon. John Reed. His son

Edward Hawkins

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HISTORY OF GREATER INDIANAPOLIS ..

John eventually removed to Connecticut and settled in the north parish of Fairfield, the County of Fairfield having been one town at that time. He was one of the first and most prominent settlers of this town, and when the village in which he resided was incorporated as a town, in May, 1767, it was named Reeding, in his honor. He was actively identified with the military affairs of the colony and held commission as a colonel. He died in 1786, at the age of eighty-six years, and his de- scendants are still numerous in Connecticut, Vermont and New York, as well as in many of the western states.

Jefferson H. Reed gained his early educa- tional training in the public schools of Au- gusta and Paxton, Illinois, and as a youth he became his father's assistant in the work at the carpenter's trade. In 1871 he entered upon an apprenticeship at the watchmaker's and jeweler's trade, in Paxton, Illinois, where he finally became a member of the jewelry firm of Reed & Swinford, which continued operations at Paxton until 1878. In the spring of the following year they removed to Paris, Illinois, where they continued suc- cessfully engaged in the jewelry business un- til 1892, when Mr. Reed purchased his part- ner's interest, after which he continued the enterprise individually until 1902, on the 6th of February of which year he removed to In- dianapolis, where he has continued in the same line of business and gained precedence as conducting one of the best equipped and most successful jewelry houses of the capital city. He is known as a reliable, progressive and enterprising business man and as a citi- zen imbued with the utmost civic loyalty, thus commanding the confidence and esteem of the community with whose business and social life he has closely identified himself.

In politics Mr. Reed accords a stalwart al- legiance to the cause of the Republican party, but the honors or emoluments of public of- fice have had no allurement for him. He and his wife are members of the First Baptist Church, and his fraternal relations are here briefly noted: Paris Lodge, No. 268, Free & Accepted Masons, and Edgar Chapter, No. 32, Royal Arch Masons, at Paris, Illinois; and Apollo Lodge, No. 57, Knights of Pythias, in Paris, Illinois. Mr. Reed is a member of the Commercial Club and the Columbia Club.

On the 25th of September, 1879, was sol- emnized the marriage of Mr. Reed to Miss Julia C. Smith, who was born in Highland, Ulster County, New York, on the 20th of August, 1857, and who is a daughter of James F. and Mary (Covert) Smith. Her fa- ther was born in Ulster County, New York,

February 26, 1828, and died at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Reed, in Indianapolis, on the 7th of May, 1908; his wife was born Decem- ber 26, 1831, and was summoned to the life eternal on the 14th of June, 1900, their mar- riage having been celebrated on Christmas day of the year 1853. Concerning their four children the following brief data are given: Edward F. is a resident of the state of Cali- fornia; Julia C. is the wife of the subject of this review; Eleanora is the wife of Edgar Stevens, of Paxton, Illinois; and Myra L died at the age of ten years. Mr. Smith was reared on the old home farm in Ulster Coun- ty, New York, where he remained until he was twenty-five years of age, when he en- gaged in the boating business on the Hudson River, being identified with the operation of freighting vessels and being familiarly known as Captain Smith. He became the owner of several freight barges and continued to be actively identified with this line of en- terprise until 1872, when he removed to Il- linois and settled near Paxton, where he was concerned in agricultural pursuits until 1896, when he came to Indianapolis, where he passed the residue of his long and useful life, having maintained his home with Mr. and Mrs. Reed after the death of his cherished and devoted wife. Both were devout and zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and in politics he gave his support to the cause of the Republican party. Mr. and Mrs. Reed have three children-William Jef- ferson, Harry J. and Helen M. William J., who is an optician by profession and has charge of the optical department in his fa- ther's establishment, married Miss Frances M. Lane, a daughter of Sarah Lane, of Terre Haute.

EDWARD HAWKINS. A native of Indiana who has made his influence felt in connection with public affairs, who has been called to various important offices of trust and respon- sibility, and who has been a factor in the busi- ness and civic interests of the capital city, is the representative citizen whose name intro- duces this paragraph. He has heen the archi- tect of his own fortunes and well has he over- come handicaps that would have baffled a man of less determination, energy and ambition The first thirty years of his life were passed on an Indiana farm; for the succeeding decade and a half he was closely identified with execu- tive duties in various township, countv, city and national offices, and for the past twenty vears he has devoted his attention to the phe- nomenal development of the Indiana School Book Company and to other important finan- cial and business interests. These three periods

Vol. II-28

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HISTORY OF GREATER INDIANAPOLIS.

or classifications represent the main divisions in a career that has been marked by success and prestige, and it is a matter of gratification to the editors and publishers of this historical work to be able to enter within its pages a brief review of the more salient points to be found under the above mentioned periods.

Edward Hawkins was born on a pioneer farm in Laporte County, Indiana, in February, 1843, and is the third in order of birth of the eight children of Joseph C. and Julia A. (Pat- ton) Hawkins, both of whom were born and reared in the State of Virginia. In the au- tumn of the year 1842 Joseph C. Hawkins and his little family set forth with team and wagon to make the long overland journey from Vir- ginia to their destination in Laporte County, Indiana, where they arrived after a period of ten weeks en route. Soon after reaching La- porte County the father secured a tract of gov- ernment land which was soon transformed into a productive farm. He and the most of his family continued to reside on this homestead until death called them. All the children are now deceased except the subject of this review and his younger brother, William A., who is now a resident of Seattle, Washington.

Edward Hawkins was born about three weeks after the arrival of the family in La- porte County, and there he was reared under the strenuous discipline of a farm in a new country, to whose work he early began to con- tribute his quota, the while his educational ad- vantages were limited to the country schools of the locality and period. An alert and receptive mind enabled him to overcome this handicap of the early years, and he is today known as a man of broad and general information and of sound judgment. His acumen and eligibility were early recognized in his native county and he was quite a young man when elected to the office of township trustee. During two terms of service in this position he made a record that marked him for higher official preferment. In 1874 he was elected sheriff of Laporte Coun- ty and at the expiration of his first term he was chosen as his own successor.

In 1885 Mr. Hawkins was recognized as a most available candidate for the office of United States Marshal for the district of In- diana, to which position he was appointed by President Cleveland. Upon assuming the du- ties of this office he established his residence in Indianapolis, which city has ever since been his home. He continued in the office of marshal until the assumption of the presidency by Ben- jamin Harrison in 1889, when he retired with gracious recognition of the doctrine that "to the victor belongs the spoils". He had been an ardent exponent of the cause of the Demo-

cratic party, in whose ranks he has ever con- tinued a stalwart worker, and in 1880 he was made delegate from Indiana to the Democratic national convention which nominated General Hancock for the presidency.

During the entire period of his residence in the capital city of his native state Mr. Hawkins has been closely concerned with its business and civic affairs, and he has ever maintained a se- cure place in the confidence and regard of its people. Soon after locating in Indianapolis he became a member of the Board of Trade and not long afterwards was elected to membership of the governing committee, which position he held for eighteen years, retiring only recently. He was one of the charter members of the Commercial Club, with which he is still active- lv identified. During the administration of Hon. Thomas L. Sullivan as mayor of Indian- apolis Mr. Hawkins was a member and presi- dent of the board of public safety. In 1891 when the law was passed providing for a state commission to represent the interests of In- diana at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Governor Hovey appointed Mr. Haw- kins commissioner from Indianapolis, and thereafter until the close of the exposition he held a position on the executive and auditing committees of the Indiana commission.

Upon the failure of the Indianapolis Na- tional Bank in 1893, when great consternation and loss was entailed by this financial catas- trophe, the national bank comptroller, Mr. Eckles, appointed Mr. Hawkins receiver of the bank, whose tangled affairs he handled with tact and discrimination, so that the loss to the depositors was materially reduced from the figures which it was at first feared would be reached. Mr. Hawkins was unflagging in his zeal for the protection of the interests of those concerned in the defunct institution, and through his administration gained even strong- er hold on popular confidence and esteem. He was one of the incorporators of the Indiana Trust Company and has been a member of the directorate from the time of its organiza- tion, it being the first trust company to or- ganize in Indiana. He was also one of the in- corporators of the Indianapolis, Crawfordsville and Western Traction Company, and a director and officer from its inception. It may be said, however, that his best and greatest work as a promoter and administrative officer has been in connection with the development of the busi- ness of the Indiana School Book Company, of which he has long been the directing force, being secretary and general manager of the company at the present time and giving to its interests much time and attention.

Mr. Hawkins has been affiliated with the Ma-

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sonic fraternity since early manhood and has now attained the thirty-second degree in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of the order, besides which he holds membership in the ad- junct organization, Murat Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He was one of the founders and is still an active member of the University Club of Indianapolis, and is likewise a charter mem- ber of the Country Club. When he first came to the city he joined the Indianapolis Maen- nerchor and ever since has been one of its memhers.

In the vear 1874 Mr. Hawkins was married to Miss Mary J. Billingsly of Coldwater, Mich- igan, and the four sons of this union are Don. Guy. Wirt and Paul. Don, Guy and Wirt are graduates of Harvard University, and Paul, after spending two years at Wabash College, is now a student of The University of Pennsyl- vania.

CHARLES W. CRAIG represents one of the largest confectionery houses in Indianapolis and throughout the state. He has attained his position of prominence in industrial cir- cles through his own exertions, and may just- ly be proud of what he has wrought. He was born at Peru, Illinois, November 4, 1859, a son of Robert and Mary (Adams) Craig, the father born near Belfast, Ireland, and the mother in Pennsylvania. She was related to the old Adams family of Massachusetts. Rob- ert Craig came to this country with his par- ents when but three years of age, and the family locating in Pennsylvania, he spent his younger life there and then moved to Peru, Illinois, some time in the early '50s. From the timber and farming land which he pur- chased he carved himself a good farming property, and during many years was en- gaged in getting out mining timbers and in general farming. He became one of the prom- inent men of LaSalle County, and his last days were spent in retirement. He died in Princeton, Illinois, in 1892, when he had at- tained the age of eighty years, and his wife was eighty-nine years old at the time of her death. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in politics was first a Whig and later a Republican.

After completing his training in the pub- lic schools of Peru, Illinois, Charles W. Craig worked on his father's farm for a year, and then began clerking in a store. Coming to Indianapolis in 1875, he spent the winter clerking in a store here and then returned to Peru in the following spring and began steamboating on the Illinois and Mississippi rivers and also did some farming. Coming again to this city in 1878 he entered upon a

clerkship for his brother, John A. 'Craig, who had established a confectionery business here in 1873 under the firm name of Alexander and Craig, and soon after his connection with this house Charles W. Craig purchased the interest of Mr. Alexander, and through the death of his brother in June of 1897 he took over the entire business. The house was then located at 20 East Washington street, whither it had been moved from its original location at 14 East Washington street, and on the 4th of May, 1900, Mr. Craig moved to his present location at No. 6 of the same street. Mr. Craig's business house bears the same relative importance to Indianapolis as does the famous Gunther house to Chicago; and in fact John A. Craig was with Mr. Gunther in Chicago before he came to this city to engage in business. Charles W. Craig is a member of the Marion Club and of the Republican party.

He married on the 24th of July, 1897, Eva Degner. She was born in Ripley County, Indiana, a daughter of William and Sophia Degner, both of whom were born in Germany, and the fourth born of their six children. William Degner came to the United States when a young man, and was first engaged in the lumber business in Ripley County, In- diana. Subsequently he located in Cincin- nati, Ohio, and from there came to Indian- apolis and became associated with a furni- ture house and later was with the E. C. At- kins Company. He died in 1897, when sixty- five years of age, preceding his wife to the home beyond by four years. Two children have been born to the marriage union of Mr. and Mrs. Craig, Carl Sterling and Gretchen L. Mr. Craig is a Republican in politics.

VALENTINE BACHMAN .- Among the busi- ness men of Indianapolis is numbered Valen- tine Bachman, who was born at Kirchheim, Volandin, in Rheinpfalz, Germany, June 5, 1847, a son of Michael and Elizabeth Bach- man. The father, who also was born in Ger- many, died at the age of seventy-six years in Louisville, Kentucky. He was a miller and dealer in flour, and he came to the United States in 1865, but returned to the father- land after about one year, although he came again to America and spent his last days in Louisville. His wife died in Germany in 1851, and of the large family of fourteen children horn to their marriage union three are now living: Marie, the widow of Charles Hinkel, Valentine and Fred.

Valentine Bachman was fifteen years of age when he came from his native fatherland to the United States. After a good educational training in the common and Latin schools

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HISTORY OF GREATER INDIANAPOLIS.

he spent one year working at the locksmith's trade, and after coming to this country in 1862 he found employment at repairing govern- ment arms in Louisville, Kentucky, also help- ing to build a government boat. In 1864 he came to Indiana andthen took employment with his brother William, who owned and op- erated a water power flour and saw mill on Fall creek in the northeastern portion of Marion County, and during this time he be- came skilled .in millwright work and after rebuilding several mills in the neighborhood. he attended Hartesville Academy during two winter sessions and then pursued a course in mechanical engineering in Stevens Institute, Hoboken, New Jersey, graduating therein with its class of 1875 as a mechanical engineer, and also pursued special courses in chemis- try. This educational course was made pos- sible through the capital of twelve hundred dollars which he had saved from his earn- ings. Going to Philadelphia, Mr. Bachman worked one summer as a draughtsman in the ship yards, was then engaged in blasting rock for the jetties on the Mississippi River, and coming to Indianapolis in the fall of 1877 spent the following three years as a mill- wright. Next he operated a flour mill in Cleveland, Ohio, but selling there engaged.in building mills in Illinois and Ohio on the roller process and in December of 1883 re- sumed the flour milling business in Indian- apolis. Mr. Bachman has since continued along this line, and is now one of the oldest representatives of the business in the city. He is a member of the Board of Trade, of the German House and is a stockholder in the American National Bank and other local corporations.

He married Lena Konigslow on November 1, 1882. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio, but was educated in Germany, the birthplace of her parents, Herman and Charlotte Konigs- low. Herman Konigslow was a manufacturer of sewing machines in Germany, and he is now living retired at his home, in Cleveland, Ohio. The four daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Bachman are Else, Irma, Charlotte and Ida.

REV. FRANK S. C. WICKS. Among those who are contributing much to the religious life of Indiana's capital city and who stand as worthy exponents of loyal and helpful citizenship is the able and honored pastor of All Souls Unitarian Church, which has made great advancement in spiritual and temporal prosperity and usefulness under his guidance and zealous direction. He was installed as pastor of this church on the 10th of Decem- ber, 1905, and he is known as one of the ver- satile and eloquent pulpit orators of the state

and as a man whose life is one of signal con- secration to the noble work of aiding and uplifting his fellow men. His status in the community is such as to render thoroughly consistent a brief review of his career in this publication, which has to do with the history of Greater Indianapolis and its people.

Mr. Wieks was born at Wellville, Massachu- setts, on February 15, 1868, and is a son of Joseph and Eunice (Corey) Wicks, the former of whom was born in Trowbridge, England, and the latter in Coventry, Con- necticut, the latter being a representative of sterling families early founded in New Eng- land, that cradle of so much of our national history. The father's principal vocation dur- ing his active career was that of woolen man- ufacturer. He died in October, 1909, and his wife is now residing in Worcester, Mas- sachusetts. Rev. Frank S. C. Wicks gained his early educational discipline in the public schools of Worcester, Massachusetts, and later he continued his studies in the Peekskill Military Academy, at Peekskill, New York. In 1894 he was graduated in the Meadville Theological School, at Meadville, Pennsyl- vania, and in the spring of that year he was ordained to the ministry of the Unitarian Church. Before assuming a definite pastoral charge he completed a post-graduate course in the divinity school of Harvard University, and he then assumed charge of a new parish in Passaic, New Jersey, where he continued in service for three years, within which he was successful in placing the parish upon a sub- stantial and permanent foundation and ef- fected the erection of a new church edifice. From an appreciative estimate of Mr. Wicks given at the time of his coming to Indianap- olis, by Dr. Samuel A. Eliot, president of the American Unitarian Association, are gleaned the following pertinent statements in the first of which reference is made to his labors in Passaic, New Jersey, as just noted: “His record in this pioneer service was so good that in 1898 he was called to the charge of the old First Parish Church in Brighton, a district that is within the limits of the city of Boston. His services, for nearly eight years, at Brighton have been uniformly suc- cessful, and he has commended himself to the confidence and affection of his fellow workers in all the neighboring churches. He was early drafted into denominational service. For five years he has been secretary of the Benevolent Fraternity of Churches, which is a union of the Unitarian churches of Boston, spending some twenty-five thousand dollars a year in philanthropic work. Since 1900 he has also been the treasurer of the Unitarian

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Summer Meetings Asociation, and has man- aged the highly successful meetings held each summer at the Isle of Shoals. For four years he has been secretary and treasurer of the Ministerial Union, which gathers the Unitar- ian ministers of Boston and its neighborhood in monthly meetings for conference and good fellowship. Ever since his coming to Brigh- ton he has also been one of the council of the local district of the Associated Charities and has been active in the work of civic reform. His genial temperament, well directed indus- try, broad sympathies, candid speech and strength of character well assure him wide and rapidly extending influence in Indianap- olis. "

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Greater Indianapolis : the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes, Part 88

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