Greater Indianapolis : the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes, Part 89

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 89


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From the above it may be seen that Mr. Wicks left grateful and generous associations in the east when he accepted the call to the church in Indianapolis-a church at the time none too strong in membership or consecrat- ed wealth. In his pastorate here he has ful- ly justified the many appreciative words ut- tcred by those high in the councils of the Unitarian Church in America, and his suc- cess has been shown not only in the increase in membership, the cementing of strong links of church fellowship and harmonious co-op- eration and the extensive improvements of the church property, but he has also gained a secure hold upon the confidence and high regard of the community in which he has thus elected to establish his home and in which he has found ample scope for his fruit- ful efforts as a clergyman and as a citizen. A letter from the late lamented Rev. Edward Everett Hale, D. D., chaplain of the United States senate at the time of his death, was addressed to All Souls Church under date of November 22, 1905, and is well worthy of reproduction and perpetnation in this sketch : "I have heard of your appointment of Mr. Wieks and his acceptance of your invitation. It seems to me that you have chosen .very wisely. Mr. Wicks is a young man whom I have learned to respect as among the very leaders of our working body. Indeed, I may say to you fairly that we do not know what we are to do without him. He is a conse- crated man who knows what his duty is in our profession and has shown himself most suc- cessful in carrying that duty out. I have many friends in Indianapolis. I used to hear of Indianapolis from Henry Ward Beecher, who was a connection of our family. I should congratulate any young man who was going to Indianapolis, and I am sure that there opens before your congregation a prosperous and successful future."


Here also should be entered the tribute


from that noble pioneer, the Rev. Robert Collyer, now deceased, whose fame extended throughout the entire country and who was pastor emeritus of the Church of the Mes- siah, New York City, at the time of his de- mise. Dr. Collyer wrote to All Souls Church in the following words: "You are fortu- nate in your choice of a minister and in his choice of you. Mr. Wicks is a wine that needs no bush; he has proven himself a min- ister that needeth not to be ashamed in ten years of good endeavor. The church will not need to spur him on, but more likely to hold him in. How lovely it is to watch a brave church in its youth-time go from strength to strength ! This is what your church is doing, and will do, and be a church of the living God, a pillar and ground of the truth. May the little one become a thousand is my prayer and benediction."


Mr. Wicks' special interest aside from mak- ing his church stand for liberal, practical and helpful religion is in civic affairs, and he has given effective service in connection with the leading philanthropic organizations of In- dianapolis, and his influence and aid are generously given in the furtherance of meas- ures and enterprises tending to conserve the material and social well-being of the com- munity. He is at the present time a mem- ber of the Pure-milk Commission and the Play-ground Commission of the city, mem- ber of the Mayor's Advisory Council, and secretary of the Children's Aid Association. His church, prosperous in all departments of its work, he describes as a "religious center with a civic circumference". It is now mak- ing plans for a new building and most of the money is raised. In politics he is indepen- dent, with Democratic tendencies of the Grover Cleveland type. He is a member of of Mystic Tie Lodge, F. & A. M.


On the 20th of June, 1899, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Wicks to Miss Elizabeth Goodnow, who was born and reared in Boston and who is a representative of one of that city's oldest and most honored families. She is a daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Welch) Goodnow, who still reside in Boston, and in Indianapolis her gracious personality has endeared her to all those with whom she has come in contact in church and social af- fairs.


LORENZ SCHMIDT. The stanch old German fatherland has contributed to the cosmopoli- tan social fabric of our American republic a most valuable element, and from the distant empire have come to America many ambitious young men who, depending entirely upon their own abilities and resources, have won


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positions of independence and gained success of no indefinite order. A worthy and hon- ored representative of this class in Indianap- olis is Lorenz Schmidt, who came to Marion County, Indiana, when a young man, shortly after his arrival in this country, and here he has advanced from the position of a farm hand to a place of prominence as one of the representative business men and highly es- teemed citizens of Indianapolis, where he is now secretary of the German Fire Insurance Company of Indiana, one of the ably man- aged and substantial concerns of its kind in the middle west and one that controls a large business.


company has been so successful in its opera- tions, and its business has been admirably handled under his long and faithful admin- istration as secretary.


Mr. Schmidt is well known in the city that has so long represented his home, and no citi- zen is more loyal and public-spirited than he. He is identified with various German socie- ties and other representative civic organiza- tions, is a Democrat in his political proclivi- ties, and served for five years as a member of the Marion County board of charities.


In the year 1870 Mr. Schmidt was united in marriage to Miss Elise Ballmann, daugh- ter of Hermann and Catherine Ballmann, of Indianapolis, and of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt three sons and three daughters are now living.


Lorenz Schmidt was born in Mecklar, Kreis Hersfeld, Kur-Hessen, now Prussia, Ger- many, on the 21st of October, 1845. He is a scion of an old and worthy family of that EBENEZER SHARPE was the youngest son of Thomas Sharpe, Jr., and his wife, Mary Mc- Ferran Sharpe. He was born in Cecil County, Maryland, in 1777. His ancestry was Scotch- Irish and his family, for the period of sixty vears since their immigration to America, had been identified with the development, religious and civil, of that county in Maryland. Though too young to serve in the war for his country's independence, he was of a loyal family, for his four eldest brothers were patriots of dis- tinction, one of them being at one time on the staff of General Washington during the Revolutionary War, and another, William, a member of the Continental Congress at Phila- delphia and one of the signers of the famous Mechlenburg Declaration of Independence. When he was eight years old his father died, leaving an estate of considerable extent and a provision in his will for the education of his youngest sons. His mother with the elder sons removed to Kentucky, and Ebenezer was sent to Philadelphia to complete his education under the tutelage of his brother-in-law, the Rev. Francis Hindman, a man who had been identified with Newark Academy, now Dela- ware Normal College, and with various other educational institutions and was long known as a professor of languages. Ebenezer went to Kentucky in the year 1799 and became master of a flourishing school known as the Lexington Academy. A little later he moved his school to the country near Lexington, where it con- tinued for some time under the name of the Locust Grove Academy. In 1804 he was elected professor of dead languages in Transylvania University, the first university established west of the Alleghanies. He held this position with honor until 1818 when he resigned, receiving the thanks of the board of trustees "for his long, faithful and able service". The cause of section and there his parents continued to re- side until their death. Mr. Schmidt was af- forded the advantages of the national schools of his native land, and in 1864, when eighteen years of age, he severed home ties and set forth to seek his fortunes in America. In due course of time he landed in New York City, and from the national metropolis he made his way westward to Indiana. He ar- rived in Marion County in May, 1864, and here he secured employment on a farm in the Pleasant Run district, being thus en- gaged for a period of about four months, at the expiration of which he secured a position as clerk in the seed store conducted by J. George Stilz in Indianapolis. In the spring of 1865, having made excellent progress in his knowledge of English and in familiarity with American customs and business methods, he found a wider field of endeavor and one in which his experience proved of distinctive value to him. He secured employment in the real estate and law office of Adolph Seiden- sticker and J. Hy. Kappes, and in this posi- tion he became familiar with business sys- tems and with real estate values in the city of his residence. In 1872 he accepted posi- tion in the "German Mutual Fire Insurance. Company of Indiana" office under Frederick Ritzinger, who was then the secretary of said company, and in the following year, in April, 1873, was chosen secretary of the German Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Mr. Schmidt held the office noted until 1896, when the company was reorganized as the German Fire Insurance Company of Indiana, in which reorganization he took a prominent part, and under the new corporate title Mr. Schmidt has continued incumbent of the of- fice of secretary. It is largely due to his dis- crimination and progressive ideas that the. his resignation was the election to the presi-


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deney of Transylvania University of the Rev. Dr. Holley, with whom he differed on funda- mental points of religion, and fearing their relations would not be pleasant preferred to hand in his resignation. He had been a most successful professor, having won the esteem and affection of his colleagues and students. In- deed, so highly was he regarded by both that many testimonials, both public and private, yet remain in which expression is given to the genuine loss of his scholarship and personal.in- fluence. He took his family to Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky, and was associated with the Rev. James McChord in the management of the Bourbon Academy, a position which he held until the death of Mr. McChord when, for some years, he continued as the head of the academy, finally leaving in 1826 for the new State of Indiana. His resignation from this institution was accepted with as many expres- sions of regret and esteem as he had received when he left Transylvania University. On his arrival in the infant capital, Indianapolis (it was only one year old), he found his work all ready for him. It was in the line he loved so well, that of teaching, for almost at once (his fame as a teacher having preceded him) a school was opened by the trustees of the Pres- byterian Church and he was invited to become its master. His pupils said of him, "never was there a better teacher, the school hours were all happiness" The master was a man of fine classical education and peculiarly adapted by nature and disposition for the profession of a teacher, mild and genial in his manner, be- lieving more in moral suasion to gain the re- spect and obedience of his pupils than he did in the rod. He was ever diligent at his books and carried his studies often far into the quiet watches of the night. No one under his train- ing ever heard a cross or sarcastic word. He opened the school each morning with the read- ing of Scripture and prayer and gave daily inoral and religious instruction to his pupils. He was one of the finest readers imaginable and often in the absence of a minister was called upon to read a sermon in church. It is said those who listened to him felt they lost nothing from the sermons not being original with him. "The voice and fervor of the read- er," says one who had often heard him, "can never be forgotten, as his clarion tones poured forth the eloquence of the eighth chapter of Romans, especially when he came to the words 'who shall separate us from the love of Christ, shall tribulation or anguish, or persecution. or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword'?" His scanning of Latin made his pupils long to learn the language, so musical were his tones of voice. One of his pupils once said of him,


"I doubt where there is a person in the state today connected with the cause of education and our general system of free schools tha. understands the practical part of a teacher or that of a head of an institution of learning as well as Mr. Sharpe". In appearance he was tall and large, scrupulously neat in dress. His hands were most beautiful, his disposition genial and kind. He was regarded by his pupils with devoted affection, had a merry way of singing Scotch songs to the delight of all who heard him. All loved him. After teach- ing some years he became agent of state for the town of Indianapolis, a position which he held until his death. Always a strong Pres- byterian, he was received by letter into the First Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis on the 5th of November, 1826, and was almost immediately elected to eldership in that church. He had married when in Lexington on the 4th of April, 1805, Eliza Lake, a Scotchwoman, the daughter of Richard Lake, Writer to His Maj- esty's Signet of Edinburgh, Scotland. Their marriage had been blessed with eight children, all but one of whom were born in Kentucky. Their names are as follows: Alexander Wat- son Sharpe, Thomas Hindman Sharpe, Isabella Maria . Sharpe (Mrs. Frank Merrill), Robina Blandina Sharpe, Amos Howard Sharpe, Eliza Ross Sharpe (Mrs. William Eckert), James McChord Sharpe, Hester Anna Sharpe (Mrs. John S. Spann). His wife and children be- came identified with him in church affairs and two of his children, Thomas and Isabella, were also associated with him in his school. His influence was felt in church matters. His kind spirit and gentle charity assisted in smoothing out the tangles which often arise in an infant church. Indeed, on one occasion it was said that "his classic pen" did much to relieve the difficulties of a situation which at one time threatened complications out of all proportion to the cause. He died on the 1st of August, 1835, and as an expression of regret the session of the Presbyterian Church passed a resolution' of sympathy for the afflicted family, saying that they deeply sympathized, for the church had lost a consistent and useful member and the session a beloved brother whose counsels and prayers they highly valued and to whom they loved to look as to a father. The words which Plato puts into the mouth of the de- parting Socrates seem particularly applicable to Mr. Sharpe-"If death is the journey to another place and there, as men say, all the dead are, what good, O my friends and judges, can be greater than this? I shall be able to continue my search into true and false knowl- edge. As in this world so also in that, what infinite delight would there be in conversing


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and asking questions, for, besides being hap- pier in that world than in this, they would be immortal. Wherefore, O judges, be of good cheer and know this of a truth that no evil can happen to a good man either in life or after death" His funeral was the largest that had ever been seen in Indianapolis at that time. There was not a vehicle in the place that was not in the. procession, a silent but eloquent testimony of the love and regard which he had won from his fellow men in the city of his adoption.


THOMAS HINDMAN SHARPE, the second son of Ebenezer Sharpe and Eliza Lake, was born at Lexington, Kentucky (as his father wrote in the family Bible), "August 2nd, 1808, at eight o'clock a. m." His boyhood was spent in and around Lexington, and his first educa- tion was received at Transylvania University. When a boy of eleven he moved, with his par- ents, to Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky, where he remained attending school and grow- ing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. His grandmother, Mrs. Isa- bella Lake, was an inmate of this household, and it is related that, adhering to the old eus- tom brought from Scotland, the ladies of the household were accustomed to their daily after- noon tea. 'The little boy, always of social dis- position, was so fond of spending this time in the informal intercourse which a cup of tea brings in a family, that his grandmother used always to say: "Here comes Tid, he smells the tea."


In 1826, then only eighteen, he came with his parents to Indianapolis. Though not tall, nor apparently of athletic build, he was well- knit and sturdy, with great swiftness and elas- ticity of motion. It is easy to picture the blue eyes, fair, fresh complexion and the smile of such sweetness and brilliancy as illumined his whole face. It was the custom in the new town, where sports were few, and the people depended almost wholly upon one another for amusement, to celebrate holidays with a more general enthusiasm than we now, in our more complex life, find time to do. Independence Day was still regarded as the great day of the year. In 1825, the year previous, Daniel Webster had delivered his great Bunker Hill oration celebrating the fiftieth birthday of the United States; and, far away as the Massa- chusetts sea coast is, the echoes of the great speech were found in the heart of every school- boy and young man in the western prairies. In Indianapolis the Fourth of July was a great occasion. There were games of all kinds, marching through the streets and the firing of such guns as could be found in honor of the day. One of the special features was foot


racing, and the Indians, always fleet, were then not so far away but that representatives, came to take part in the races. One of these, known as a particularly swift runner, was to give an exhibition of his skill. The town took great pride in his ability, and imagination can pic- ture the hardy pioneers resting from their strenuous labors and gossiping over the feats of this young savage. Ebenezer Sharpe, al- ways quiet, yet fond of a joke in a gentle way, stood among those who looked upon the light- ness and swiftness of the Indian, and re- marked casually, "I have a boy who can run faster than that". It seemed impossible to those who had long witnessed the Indian's hon- ors, and who felt a sort of local pride in his wearing the palm, that an American boy could possibly outrun one of a race noted for speed and agility. But Mr. Sharpe persisted, and, after some delay, a race hetween the two youths was arranged. The Indian was tall, lithe and graceful and in splendid training. Thomas, who was of a slightly smaller build seemed a rash opponent, but when the goal was won the Indian was beaten by a sufficient number of feet to make Thomas' victory undisputed. To the end of his life he rejoiced to tell this story. and would often add: "I could not do that now, still I can take a pretty good walk for an old fellow."


For two years after his arrival in Indian- apolis he was assistant to his father in his school. He then spent a year as deputy clerk in the office of James M. Ray, the first county clerk. About 1831 he was school commissioner for the county and had in charge the lands appropriated by the general government for school purposes. He was also a clerk in the land office, and had almost entire charge of the immense sales of land in this district. He succeeded his father as agent of state for the town of Indianapolis, and in 1835 he entered the Indianapolis branch of the State Bank as teller, a position which he held for ten years. when he was appointed to the more important office of eashier of the bank. He held this position until the affairs of the bank were wound up, when, in conjunction with Calvin Fletcher. Esquire, he established the Indian- apolis Branch Banking Company. which later did business under the name of Fletcher & Sharpe. Upon the death of Mr. Fletcher he requested that the business should be continued by Mr. Sharpe, and without change. the same as if he were yet living, "one of the highest encomiums that could be paid to his integrity. worth and merit. for no person knew him so well as Mr. Fletcher". Mr. Sharpe was for several years director and treasurer of the old


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Ther Shays


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HISTORY OF GREATER INDIANAPOLIS.


Bellefontaine Railroad, and director of the Cin- cinnati, Indianapolis, St. Louis & Chicago.


Though a prominent business man, conserva- tive, successful and careful, Mr. Sharpe was never contented with accumulating money for himself. "His was the large and generous na- ture that is not contented with saying "depart, be ye warmed and be ye clothed", but he be- longed to the great army of those who are in deed, as well as in word, their brother's keeper. For many years he was president of the In- dianapolis Benevolent Association and one of its finance committee. His house, in the early days, had a storeroom set apart, in which were kept, carefully and methodically associated, the garments to be distributed among the poor. He was so modest and retiring, and so re- fined and high-minded, that he never spoke of his deeds of charity; and it is certain that most of them will never be known until that great day when the Judge of us all shall say, "inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me".


On November 2, 1837, Mr. Sharpe married Miss Elizabeth Catherine Wilson, daughter of Dr. John Wilson of Uniontown, Pennsylvania. They had eleven children: Ebenezer, Mary Yandes (Mrs. Mary Sharpe Moore), Isabella Merrill, Sophia Kramer, Eliza Lake (Mrs. Al- bert E. Fletcher), Thomas Hindman, Ellen Bates, Anna Hester (Mrs. Hugh H. Hanna), Catherine Wilson, Jessie (Mrs. Elbridge Gerry) and William Eckert. Seven of these children lived to maturity; the others died in childhood.


In politics Mr. Sharpe had been an adherent of the Whig party, and voted the straight ticket for "Tippecanoe and Tyler too". He was a firm and devoted supporter of the Republican party at the time of its formation, and an un- yielding and uncompromising unionist. In his youth he, too, had an ambition to serve his state as a volunteer, and was a member of the brigade which was prepared to march for- ward in defense of the state against Black Hawk and his braves. As Berry Sulgrove, in his History of Marion County, says: "On the 3rd of June, 1832, the news of the outbreak of the Sac and Fox Indians under Black Hawk reached the town. And next day a call was made for a hundred and fifty men of the Fortieth Regiment, belonging to this county, to rendezvous herc on the 9th of June, each man mounted and armed with rifle, knife and tomahawk and a supply of powder for the cam- paign. When all were mounted and ready to mareh they made as fine a body of men as could have been found in any army in the world. The only warlike incident of the little campaign was the firing of a frightened picket


at a vagrant cow one night, which alarmed the whole camp. The batallion returned on the 3rd of July and took part in the celebra- tion of the next day." This was Mr. Sharpe's first and last military expedition. He was fond of laughing about it all his life.


Mr. Sharpe was a devoted adherent to the Union and contributed liberally to the North- crn cause. During the strenuous days of the rebellion, when Indianapolis was such a hot- bed for conspiracy and intrigue, Mr. Sharpe was a member of a military company called "The Silver Grays". Though fortunately never called to action, there is no doubt but he would have been ready to take his place. In 1841 he had supported Tippecanoe and Tyler, too, and in 1889 he rejoiced to see his lifelong friend, Gen. Benjamin Harrison, the grandson of old Tippecanoe, nominated for the presidency. He went up with the Indiana dele- gation to the Chicago presidential convention which nominated General Harrison, not as a member of the delegation, but as an enthusi- astic supporter of the Indiana delegation's nominee. He marched through the streets with the Harrison Club of Indiana, refusing to admit that he was not as young and as stanch as the first voter there; and, when the order came for "double quick", in spite of his eighty-one years, he kept time and pace with the very best.


Mr. Sharpe was ordained elder of the First Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis, in March, 1850. He had been deacon previous to that for ten years, having been admitted to the church on the 18th day of May, 1838, on confession of faith. All his life he was a perfect example of a consistent Christian. His eldership ended only with his death on the 12th of February, 1893.


In his home relations, Mr. Sharpe was per- fection. His gentleness, refinement, sweetness were united with his firmness of purpose, his high integrity and his noble consideration for others. He was always patient and sweet tem- pered, full of quiet fun, and delighted with and delightful to the society of young people. His manners were wonderfully graceful and cour- teous, his greetings always hospitable and sin- cere, and accompanied by that beautiful smile, which those who have been fortunate enough to see once, will rejoice to win again. His home was the center of all good impulses. No one ever heard him say harsh or critical words. It pained him to hear anyone spoken ill of, and his rebuke was always the mild but point- ed one-"Children. it hurts the one that talks." Gossip he particularly abhorred; and neither he nor his wife ever permitted it in their house- hold. Cheerful and uncomplaining himself.




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