USA > Indiana > Dearborn County > History of Dearborn County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 102
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Several Emmerts with baptismal names similar to those long borne in the family of Philip J. Emmert, came to America as early as 1730, accord- ing to "Rupp," in his history of the Pennsylvania Germans, and others a few years following, from what then was known as the Rheinish Palatinate, who had settled in the latter place as French Huguenots, who had fled their native country because of persecution in the latter part of the seventeenth century,
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during the reign of Louis XIV, many of whom later settled in other parts of Germany, England, Ireland and America, the descendants of such as came to this side being found numerously in Georgia, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Iowa. Peter Emmert, brother of Philip J. Emmert, while at New Orleans as a member of the Twelfth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War, met an Emmert, whose ancestors settled in Louisiana at the time of the early set- tlement of that territory ; while a competent authority on Methodism in Amer- ica states that Philip Embury and Barbara Heck, the first Methodists in America, came here from Ireland, but whose parents were natives of the Rheinish Palatinate, confirming the statement of "Rupp" in reference to the Huguenots.
To have been connected with the business circles of Lawrenceburg, county seat of this county, for nearly three-quarters of a century, and to have attained honorable and enviable rank as the oldest living merchant, from the point of continuous activity, in that city, are the distinctions which prop- erly belong to Philip J. Emmert, a native of Rheinish Bavaria, who was brought to America by his parents, along with a goodly company of their neighbors, on the good ship "Montpelier," when he was five years of age. Mr. Emmert's attainment to his present business position has been marked by the patient progress in achievement so peculiarly and commendably char- acteristic of the people of his racial stock. His career has not been marked by any spectacular accomplishments, yet he has gone on from year to year, performing each day's task and doing each day's duty as though each day were the last he was to live on earth. His code of living not only has redounded to the benefit of his personal fortunes, which, properly enough, are not inconsiderable, but it also has redounded to the benefit of his fellow townsmen and to all the people of Dearborn county. It was he who wrote the subscription list for the establishment of the Miami Valley Furniture Company in Lawrenceburg, which institution proved to be the nucleus of the coffin factory and the James-Meyer Buggy Company, which have become two of Lawrenceburg's thriving industries. Naturally, there are many incidents in the life of Mr. Emmert which are not only worthy of preservation in the an- nals of Dearborn county but which it would be a distinct loss to omit.
Philip J. Emmert strenuously favored the raising and strengthening of the Lawrenceburg levee. He advocated this improvement while he was a member of the city council, and both before and since that time urged that the city secure adequate protection by the erection of a concrete wall; believing that
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it would be the greatest factor for the future prosperity of the city. By voice and pen he has advocated municipal ownership of all public utilities, such as gas, electric light plant and waterworks. Mr. Emmert has worked for the improvement of public roads, industrial schools for boys and girls; and for a quarter of a century has made known through the public press the advisability of automatic safety appliances on all railways especially automatic train stops in case of threatened collision or open switch. Mr. Emmert has invented an automatic system (caveat of which is on file in the patent office) which indicates the arrival and departure of all trains, instantly visible on a chart at every station on the railway. Philip J. Emmert has ever been ready with a word of encouragement for every enterprise, private, public, educational or benev- olent, that would redound to the benefit of the community.
Although Philip J. Emmert was born in the town of Mutterstadt, Rhei- nish Bavaria, on November 27, 1841, his parents, Christopher and Anna Eliza- beth (Ott) Emmert, who were born in the same place, were born at a time when Mutterstadt was a part of the dominion of the French Empire, such having been the changes affected in course of time in consequence of the mili- tary contests between Germany and France. Only two sons of the five sons and two daughters born to Christopher and Anna Elizabeth Emmert are now (October, 1915) living, Philip J., the immediate subject of this biographical sketch, and Jacob Emmert, who resides at Clarksburg. in Decatur county. this state, where he established a flour and saw-mill business, now continued by his son. and who is, himself, manager and proprietor of one of the best stock farms in Decatur county, and a resident of Clarksburg for fifty years.
The three deceased sons were : Peter Emmert, who enlisted on the day of Lincoln's first call for seventy-five thousand volunteers, at the beginning of the Civil War, in April, 1861, and who, as a member of Capt. Nat. Lord's com- pany. Seventh Regiment. Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Eb. Dumont, colonel. participated in the first skirmish or initial engagement between the northern and the southern armies, following the attack on the "Star of the West" by South Carolina rebels at Charleston. the act that precipitated the War of the Rebellion. He also was in the engagement at Carricks Ford, where the Rebel general, Garnett, was killed and his forces captured. At the expiration of his period of original enlistment, Peter Emmert returned home and presently re-in- listed and was later transferred to the cavalry branch of the service. with which he performed valiant service until the close of the war, peace having been declared while he was engaged rounding up Rebel bushwackers in the swamps of Louisiana. Peter Emmert lived many years of usefulness after the
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war, his death occurring in Lawrenceburg in 1911, he then being in his eighty- first year.
Frederick Emmert, second of the deceased sons of Christopher Emmert, for many years had charge of the flour-barrel department of the Lewis & Eichelberger cooperage at Lawrenceburg. During the Civil War he served in the bridge-building service until disabled by Rebel raiders. He was in the United States revenue collecting service during the Harrison adminis- tration and died in Kansas City on June 22, 1899. John Emmert, third of these deceased sons, established and for several years operated what is now known as the Garland flour-mills, at Greensburg, this state, where his death occurred in 1882. He left several sons and daughters who are now residents, variously, of Shelbyville, Anderson and Greensburg. The two daughters of Christopher and Anna Elizabeth Emmert, both of whom now are deceased, were: Elizabeth, who married George Koffenberger and who died at Wil- mington, Delaware, in 1871, and whose remains were laid to rest in the old Swedish cemetery of that place, and Catherine Barbara, who married Solomon Prell, also of Wilmington, Delaware. She died in New York City in 1883 and was buried in Mt. Vernon cemetery at Philadelphia. Her children and grandchildren are engaged in lucrative businesses in the cities mentioned. Christopher Emmert, father of the above children, who was born in 1802, died in 1868, and his widow, who was born in 1804, died in 1877, both hav- ing been for many years counted as among the useful and respected residents of the city of Lawrenceburg.
The great-grandparents of Philip J. Emmert were George Christian and Mary Elizabeth (Weinacht) Emmert. who were married in 1763. Both his grandfather and his father were farmers by occupation in their native land. The latter came to America with his wife and children in 1846 and for a time after settling in this country was employed in flour-mills. . After having spent some time in Philadelphia, the Emmert family engaged in farming for a year in the state of Maryland, near the city of Washington, and finally settled at Illchester, on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad. where the father was employed in the Ellicott's mills and where the son. John, learned the miller's trade. They then moved to Wilmington, Delaware, in 1851, and there Christopher Emmert and son, John, received employment in the Brandywine flour-mills, then the most extensive mills of the kind in the United States. The family came to Indiana in September, 1854. locating at Lawrenceburg, this county, and were presently followed by other friends and acquaintances from the East, John Emmert having preceded the other members of the family to Law-
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renceburg the year previous, was at once employed by Lewis & Eichelberger in their newly built flour-mill, then the largest in Indiana,. because of his previous experience in the eastern export mills, and the father and the other four sons, in the course of a short time, were employed by the same firm, and in that city Christopher Emmert and his wife spent the rest of their lives. They were devoted members of the Lutheran church and their children were reared in that faith. Christopher Emmert's father, Martin Emmert, was a farmer by occupation and was the father of seven children, of whom Chris- topher was the fifth in order of birth.
Philip J., the sixth, was the only other of Christopher Emmert's brothers to come to America. He arrived in 1849 and 1851 located near Queen City, Schuyler county, Missouri, where he died in 1897, at the great age of ninety- three years. Two of his sons gave their services to their adopted country as soldiers in the Union army during the Civil War. Prompted by the emotions that inspired the artist's conception of that touching and thrilling picture, "Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way," in the rotunda of the capitol at Washington, the children of Philip J. Emmert established homes in Oklahoma, Washington and other western states, availing themselves of the opportunities offered in this free and enlightened country; the prime object that moved to action their fathers in forsaking their native land, that their posterity might inherit largely.
The other children of Martin Emmert were Peter, John, George, Eliza- beth and Catherine. The founder of the Emmert family in Mutterstadt, Rheinish Bavaria, was Johan Christopher Emmert, who settled there about the year 1700. Jacob and Elizabeth (Wild) Ott, maternal grandparents of the subject of this review, did not come to America. Although but a shoemaker by trade, Jacob Ott acquired considerable property, as reckoned at that time in that country. He and his wife had two daughters, Anna Elizabeth, mother of Mr. Emmert, and Catherine Barbara, who married a Mr. Miller.
When the Emmert family came from Delaware to this county, locating at Lawrenceburg, Philip J. Emmert was thirteen years of age and had practically completed his education in the schools of Wilmington, but for a short time after arrriving in Lawrenceburg, he attended the schools conducted by Hamlet Sparks, an uncle of former Governor Durbin, of Indiana. On August 1I, 1855. at the age of thirteen, he began clerking in the dry-goods store, at that time owned and operated by Lewis Brothers, at the corner of Short and High streets. Two years later, in 1856, the firm name was changed to Lewis,
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Moore & Lewis and in the spring of 1857 this firm moved to the corner room of the I. O. O. F. opera house building, and at the expiration of the lease covering that room, in 1362, moved to the quarters now occupied by the Emmert store, at the corner of High and Short streets. Seven years later, in 1869, Philip J. Emmert succeeded to the business and has operated it ever since. Thus was begun the independent career of the young man, who, at the age of thirteen, had been given the key of the store of his employers and who, during all the years of his apprenticeship, was accustomed to open the store in the morning. Mr. Emmert has sold goods in the city of Lawrence- burg for a period of sixty years and for the past forty-six years has been in business for himself. The good will and the share of trade accorded him by the community in the sale of dry goods and other commodities pertaining to the business is not a matter of accident or sudden "good fortune." Mr. Emmert's success has been built upon a firm foundation of skillful and care- ful management and honorable and fair dealing with the public.
In November, 1865, four years before he became proprietor of his pres- ent store, Philip J. Emmert was united in marriage to Catherine Hodell, daughter of George and Catherine (Berke) Hodell, natives of Alsace, who were the parents of six children, of whom Catherine was the fifth in order of birth. Mrs. Catherine Emmert died in March, 1867, without issue, and on October 22, 1869, Mr. Emmert married, secondly, Mary M. Deuschle. daughter of Lorenz and Ann Mary (Schopper) Deuschle, natives of Kingen, near Stuttgart. in Wurtemburg, Germany. Mary M. Deuschle was born near Stuttgart on November 19; 1845, and was seven years of age when her par- ents came to America with their family and settled in Lawrenceburg. Dur- ing a temporary residence of the Deuschle family in Cincinnati she had at- tended a private school in that city. She is one of seven children born to her parents. A brother. George, the second of the family, was killed while serv- ing as a Union soldier during the Civil War. The other children were John, Joseph, Mary M., Mrs. Minnie Ferger, of Indianapolis, and William and Carrie, of Lawrenceburg, where they own a dry-goods store. The father of these children died at Lawrenceburg in 1874, at the age of sixty-four and his widow died in the same city in 1893, in her eightieth year. Mrs. Emmert's maternal grandfather, Gottlieb Schopper, married Anna Haspel and was the father of three children, Anna Mary, Louisa and Minnie.
To Philip J. and Mary M. (Deuschle) Emmert one son has been born, their only child, Edward, who, upon completing the course in the Lawrence- burg public schools entered DePauw University, later attending Johns Hop-
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kins University, at Baltimore, and Miami Medical College, from which latter institution he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine, and is now a well- known and successful practicing physician at Lawrenceburg, the city of his birth. Doctor Emmert married Edna Menke and he and his wife occupy a high position in the social life of the city.
Mr. Emmert, who has had reasonable success in his business, is thor- oughly honorable and straightforward in his dealings and commands the respect and confidence of the entire community. Having been somewhat of a reader during his long life, he is a man of intellectual acquirements and, pos- sessing a retentive memory, which is brought into requisition while in con- versation, he gives his hearers 'an impression of his earnestness, a desire for accuracy and precision, which to some might convey an impression of undue earnestness on his part. For one of his years he is a remarkably active man and attends personally to the more important details of the management of his store, in which he is ably assisted by his good wife, who, though of small stature, fills the niche of her particular sphere in the home, in the store and elsewhere, with good judgment and rare tact.
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CORNELIUS O'BRIEN.
Business is a hard taskmaster and those who would worship at her shrine must apply themselves diligently and to some extent follow well-settled and well-determined rules. In the larger sense, however, business is espe- cially a matter which calls forth the individuality of each and every person engaged in it, and that vocation is most profitable which offers and invites the best talent and energies of which the individual is possessed. Success in business is a relative term, and depends upon many factors. Because men are not equal in opportunity or in ability the measure of success must be dif- ferent for different persons. Cornelius O'Brien, who for a number of years was engaged in banking in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and who has become prominent in the financial circles of Dearborn county, is the son of a dis- tinguished banker and citizen of this state. No one is able to say that he has relied for his success upon his native ability alone. He has always been quite willing to apply himself diligently and personal effort has been a large fac- tor in his accomplishments. Associated now with A. D. Cook, manufacturer of pumps at Lawrenceburg, Mr. O'Brien has given to this business not only
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the native ability with which he is endowed,, but his best physical and mental efforts, and to him is due no small measure of success of the firm in recent years.
Cornelius O'Brien, a well-known and popular young business man of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, is a native of this city, having been born on February 12, 1883, the son of William H. and Harriet (Hunter) O'Brien.
The Hon. William H. O'Brien is one of the best-known citizens of the state of Indiana, and has lately retired after having served two terms as auditor of the state of Indiana. For a quarter of a century he has been connected prominently with financial and commercial enterprises in this city. The president of the Peoples National Bank at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, he was born in Lawrenceburg, August 22, 1855, and is the son of Cornelius and Harriet Jane (Hunter) O'Brien, the former a native of County Kilkenny, Ireland, and the latter of Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Of their children, Hon. William H. O'Brien is the only one living. At the age of eighteen Cor- nelius O'Brien came to America, and located at Dover, now Kelso, Indiana, where for several years he worked as a clerk in a store. Later he became county clerk and subsequently county treasurer, serving in the latter office two terms. In 1858 he was elected to the Indiana state senate and served one term. In 1856 he was a delegate to the Democratic national convention that nominated President Buchanan. In 1860 he was the nominee of the Democratic party for clerk of supreme court and was defeated in the Repub- lican landslide of that year, which resulted in the election of Abraham Lin- coln as President. He then settled down to practice law and died in 1869, at the age of fifty years. His wife died in 1885, at the age of fifty-five. She was a member of the Methodist church.
Educated in the public schools of Lawrenceburg and in Asbury (now DePauw) University, Hon. William H. O'Brien, after completing his sopho- more year, returned home, learned the printer's trade and was engaged in the newspaper business. From 1877 to 1894 he published the Lawrenceburg Register. Subsequently, he became vice-president of the Citizens Bank. which he organized. Later, upon the consolidation of the Peoples National Bank and the Citizens National Bank, he became president of the consolidated institution. He served five terms as mayor of Lawrenceburg, and in 1902 was elected to the Indiana state senate, serving through two sessions. In 1910 to 1914 he was auditor of state. For six years he was chairman of the Democratic state central committee, and treasurer of the Democratic national committee in 1908. Mr. O'Brien is prominent in fraternal circles of Dear-
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born county, being a Knight Templar and a thirty-second-degree Scottish Rite Mason. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Red Men.
Hon. William H. O'Brien's wife, to whom he was married on May 9, 1882, and who before her marriage was Harriet Hunter, was born at Mexico, Missouri, and is the daughter of William D. H. and Frances A. (Cau- thorn) Hunter, the former of whom was a native of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and the latter of whom was a native of Tappahannock, Essex county, Vir- ginia. For twenty years they resided at Lawrenceburg, and Mr. Hunter was associated with his son-in-law, Mr. O'Brien, in the publication of the Register. Mr. Hunter served as a member of the Missouri legislature and at the time of his death was cashier of the Citizens National Bank. He was also mayor of Mexico, Missouri, and a delegate to the Democratic national convention from Missouri in 1868. For a number of years he was collector of internal revenue for the Lawrenceburg district. In association with John B. Stoll, of South Bend, Indiana, he established the Democratic Editorial Association of Indiana. He and his wife had two children, Mrs. W. H. O'Brien, and Elizabeth, who married Herbert F. Patton, of Cleveland, Ohio.
Mr. and Mrs. W. H. O'Brien have had seven children, Cornelius, the subject of this sketch, Frances, Robert Emmett, William H., Jr., Elizabeth. Harriet Jane, and Ruth. Robert Emmett was graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, and is a first lieutenant in the Fifth Infantry, which is now stationed at Panama. He married Keturah Foulds. William H., Jr., graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annap- olis, and is now an ensign in the United States navy. He is assigned to the torpedo boat destroyer, "Paul Jones." Elizabeth, who graduated from the Bartholomew Clifton School, is the wife of Calvin W. Verity. Harriet Jane graduated from the Bartholomew Clifton School. Ruth died in infancy.
Reared in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, Cornelius O'Brien, the eldest child born to his parents, was educated in the public schools of this city, and later attended Moores Hill College for two years. Subsequently. he entered Pur- due University and was a student there for some time. After leaving Purdue he became cashier of the Citizens' National Bank of this city, and at the end of this period, the Citizens' National having been consolidated with the Peo- ple's National, became assistant cashier of the consolidated bank, a position which he still holds. In this county he is known as a most careful and con- servative banker, and appreciates the large opportunities which the banker has to promote industrial, agricultural and commercial enterprise. He is a
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good judge of credit and credit, as it is well known, is the basis of the banking business.
In 1909 Mr. O'Brien became connected with the A. D. Cook Pump Works, and now devotes all of his time to this business. This company employs about eighty people, and is one of the prosperous industrial enter- prises of this city.
On April 14, 1909, Cornelius O'Brien was married to Anna Belle Cook, the daughter of Augustus D. and Anna (Hassmer) Cook. Two daughters, Anna Belle and Mary, have been born to this union.
Mrs. O'Brien, a native of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, during her entire life has been popular socially in this city. Her father was a native of Germany and her mother of Ripley county. Both are now living in Greendale. The father is the chief owner and proprietor of the A. D. Cook Pump Works. Mrs. O'Brien is his only child. A further account of the Cook family history is to be found elsewhere in this volume.
Among the financial enterprises with which Mr. O'Brien is connected at the present time is the Dearborn County Building and Loan Association, in which he is a director. For many years he has also been active in the man- agement of the Dearborn County Fair Association, having been for three years secretary of the association and for six years, treasurer. For some time he has represented the first Indiana district on the state board of agriculture. Like his worthy father and grandfather he has for a number of years been prominent in politics and is the present treasurer of the Democratic central committee of Dearborn county. In fact, he has held this position ever since he became a voter. His efforts in behalf of the financial success of the party and the raising of campaign funds have had a great deal to do with the suc- cess of the party in this county. Mr. O'Brien is a member of Lawrenceburg Lodge No. 4, Free and Accepted Masons. He is a past master. He is also a member of Lawrenceburg Chapter No. 56, Royal Arch Masons, and of Aurora Commandery, Knights Templar. He is past chancellor of Dearborn Lodge No. 49, Knights of Pythias. At college he was a member of the Phi Kappi Psi fraternity and is a prominent alumnus of this organization. Mr. O'Brien is a member of the Methodist church.
Too much cannot be said in commendation of the career of the subject of this sketch. It may be true that he has been favored somewhat by cir- cumstances, but he has never taken advantage of these circumstances in prefer- ence to standing on his own merits and winning on this basis alone. It is no
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