USA > Indiana > Dearborn County > History of Dearborn County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 52
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Mr. and Mrs. Gooden are members of the Presbyterian church of Law- renceburg and influential members of the local congregation. Fraternally, Mr. Gooden is a member of Lawrenceburg Lodge No. 4, Free and Accepted, Ma- sons. As the editor and proprietor of a Democratic newspaper, Mr. Gooden is naturally a Democrat and has been since reaching his majority. He believes in the principles of Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, who may be regarded as patron saints of the Democratic party.
From the standpoint of usefulness, the career of William T. Gooden is a well-rounded success. He is a man who is familiar personally with every phase of the life of the Hoosier people. Not only that, but his experience as a teacher and as a newspaper owner have brought him into contact with phases of life which the ordinary man never meets. He is broad-minded, chari- table in his attitude, sincere in his purpose and the publisher of a newspaper which is a real boon to enterprise, industry and morality in the county of his residence.
ARTHUR H. EBEL.
After trying various pursuits in life, Mr. Ebel, whose name introduces the following sketch, finds himself occupying a position, for which he well quali- fied-that of serving the public and looking after the financial affairs of his home town. In selecting men for such responsible positions as the one which Mr. Ebel holds, only men of the highest integrity, and good moral standing are chosen, therefore, it is felt that there is nothing that could be said that would more fully set forth the estimation in which he is held by the people of Dearborn county.
Arthur H. Ebel. city treasurer, Aurora, this county, is a son of John and Ida (Obendorf ) Ebel, and was born on September 21, 1868, at Friendship, Ripley county, Indiana, where he attended the public schools until fourteen years of age. In 1883 he entered his father's store and assisted him in the grocery business for a year or more, and from there went to clerk for John Klueber, in the clothing business, remaining there eleven years, when his health necessitated a change. His next employment was from 1898 to 1900
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with the Acme Milling Company at Lawrenceburg. He then returned to Aurora, and in 1901, was offered the position of agent for the United States Express Company, which he accepted and filled to the satisfaction of all concerned, until 1915, when he was elected to his present office of city treasurer. Mr. Ebel is also a stockholder of the Acme Milling Company, of Aurora, and he and his wife are earnest members of the Lutheran church, in which he has been a deacon for sixteen years.
John Ebel, father of Arthur H. Ebel, was born in Bavaria, Germany, where he was in military service for six years. He came to America while still a young man, and prior to the Civil War located at Versailles, Indiana, where his brother had preceded him. He enlisted in Company E, Eighty-third Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in which he served three years, and was discharged on account of sickness. He then learned the wagon-maker's trade at Osgood, Indiana, which he followed from 1867 to 1883, at Friendship, in business for himself. He died in January, 1913, aged eighty years and three months. His wife, Ida (Obendorf) Ebel, was a native of Saxony, Germany. They were both loyal members of the Lutheran church and were the parents of seven children, namely: Amanda, who married August Wickemeier, of Cincinnati; Arthur H., subject of this review; Matilda, who married Ferdi- nand Daum, of Cincinnati, and is now a widow; Paul P., who resides at Cin- cinnati; Alma (deceased), who was the wife of Ed Brossert, of Indianapolis; Gustav, deceased, and Walter, who is a resident of Indianapolis. Mr. Ebel's first wife died in August, 1878, aged thirty-six years. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Ebel married, secondly, Margaret, the widow of Adam Ritter, who was at one time city clerk of Aurora, to which union there were born three children. Charles M., Clara and Laura. Mrs. Margaret Ebel was the mother of two children by her first husband. John Ebel had three brothers who came to America, Jacob, John P. and Martin. Mr. Ebel's maternal grand- father was Rev. Carl Gottlob Obendorf, a Lutheran minister, who married Amelia A. Lenert and came to America at an early day, settling in Ripley county, where both spent their last days on earth. To their union were born the following children : Ida Rosalia, Ottilia, Augusta, Laura, Charles, Oscar, Henry and Otto.
On September 16, 1891, Arthur H. Ebel was united in marriage to Lissette Boeck, who was born at Lawrenceburg, this county, on January 10, 1871, daughter of Leonhard and Marie (Huebner) Boeck, both natives of Bavaria, Germany, the former of whom was born at Schenerbach, the latter at Kuhlnbach.
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Mr. and Mrs. Ebel occupy a prominent position in the social life of their home city and are held in high regard there. They are devoted to all movements having to do with the betterment of local conditions and are looked upon as among the leaders in the cultural life of the community. Mr. Ebel is an intelligent, wide-awake and public-spirited citizen and pos- sesses the unreserved confidence of all, his service in his present important pub- lic office giving excellent satisfaction in both official and commercial circles.
GEORGE C. COLE.
One of Dearborn county's native-born citizens, who, although just now in the prime of life, has enjoyed an exceptionally quick rise in educational af- fairs, is County Superintendent George C. Cole. Like so many young men of the present generation who have made good in the world, Professor Cole was reared on the farm and is possessed with a natural sympathy for the oppor- tunities offered in this vocation. Professor Cole is in keen sympathy with the present-day movement known as agricultural education and is one of the fore- most leaders of this movement in this section of the state. Before his election as county superintendent some years ago, he was one of the well-known and popular teachers of Dearborn county, who, like so many successful teachers, came into the greater work of the city from the country schools and from the grade work in the city, rose quickly to the principalship of the Lawrence- burg high school. Having obtained his pedagogical training in the leading normal schools of Indiana, he was well equipped for the duties he assumed at the time of his election as county superintendent.
On his paternal side, Professor Cole is of German descent. He was born on October 15, 1872, in Logan township, this county, the son of John A. and Rebecca J. (Boatman) Cole, the former a native of Oldenburg, Ger- many. John A. Cole was reared and educated in his native country and came to America at the age of twenty-two, and located at Guilford, in this county, where, for a time, he followed the blacksmith's trade. After working at Guil- ford for about six years, he moved to I.ogan and after being a blacksmith there for a time, in 1863 engaged in farming in Logan township. He bought a farm of one hundred and fifty acres there, on which he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1911, at the age of seventy-nine years. His widow. a native of Logan township, this county, is still living at the age of seventy-
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seven. John A. Cole was a member of the Catholic church, but his widow is a member of the Methodist church. Of their eight children, John, the eldest, is deceased; Jeremiah lives in .Portland, Oregon; Charles H. lives in Seattle, Washington; Laura J. is the widow of Dr. H. W. Swales, of Harrison, Ohio; George C. is the subject of this sketch; Leonard N. resides in Marysville, Kan- sas, and two died young.
Dietrich Kohl, who married a Miss Muhle, was the paternal grandfather of George C. Cole, who lived in Oethe, in the province of Oldenburg, Ger- many, where he died at the age of fifty-nine. He and his wife were the parents of eight children, Anthony, Frederick, Joseph, Henry, John A., Charles and two who died in infancy. The mother of these children was well advanced in years at the time of her death. Professor Cole's maternal grandparents, James M. and Elizabeth (Cohee) Boatman, the former a native of Hamilton, Ohio, and the latter of Delaware, were early settlers in Dearborn county and reared a large family, their children having been named as follow : James, John, Rebecca, Jeremiah, George H., Mark. Eliza, Nathan and Maurice. James M. Boatman, a farmer and general merchant, lived to be sixty-nine years old, his widow surviving him for some years, her death occurring at the age of seventy-nine. One of their sons, Jeremiah, was killed in the service of his country during the Civil War.
Reared on his father's farm in Dearborn county, George C. Cole attended the district schools of Logan township and there he was trained and educated in the rudiments of history, geography, arithmetic, English grammar, reading, writing and spelling. In his home he received what was of much greater value, splendid character training from his father and mother. Early in life he learned to know that there is little reward without effort. and no great com- pensation without industry. Always a studious young man, after finishing the course in the district schools he attended the National Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio; the Central Normal College at Danville, Indiana; the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, Indiana, and the Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute, having graduated from the latter institution with the class of 1902. His career as a teacher, which covered a period of about seven- teen years, began in 1890, when he was eighteen years old. After teaching in the country schools for six years, he was appointed, in 1896, to a position in the eighth grade in Lawrenceburg, where he taught until 1898, at which time he was appointed to the principalship of the Lawrenceburg high school, which position he held until his election as county superintendent.
Two years after his election as county superintendent, or on June 1, 1909,
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Professor Cole was married to Tillie Lorenz, who was born at Piscataway, Maryland, the daughter of Charles A. and Mary Lorenz, the former of whom was a native of northern Austria, of German descent. and the latter a native of Baden, Germany. Charles A. Lorenz was accidentally killed in a saw-mill at Piscataway, Maryland, in 1914. His widow, the mother of Mrs. Cole, is still living. They had nine children, three of whom died in early life. Those who lived to maturity were Mary, Charles, Anna, Joseph, Theresa, and Ralph. Mrs. Cole is a devout member of the Catholic church. Mr. and Mrs. Cole have one child, Mary Rebecca.
Prof. George C. Cole is a member of Lawrenceburg Lodge No. 4, Free and Accepted Masons, and is high priest of Lawrenceburg chapter No. 56, Royal Arch Masons. He is an ardent Democrat and for years has been more or less identified with the leadership of the party in this section. Professor Cole enjoys high standing as an educator in southern Indiana. He is a promi- nent member of the County Superintendents' Association of Indiana, and is one of the leading citizens of this community.
MISS GEORGIANA SUTTON.
Every enlightened community is proud of its noble men and women, of whom Dearborn county has had in the past, and has today, a goodly number. Among the noble women of a day now past in this county there is none more worthy of mention than Miss Georgiana E. Sutton, deceased, the daughter of the late Dr. George Sutton. This good woman was born and reared in Aurora, and was always loyal to the town of her birth and the friends with whom she grew up from childhood. She lived not alone for herself, but for others, and among the good deeds of her life, which were many, she be- queathed to her home town the beautiful public library, which now stands a perpetual monument to her memory ; having made provision for the same prior to her death, by her last will and testament, setting aside the sum of ten thousand dollars for this purpose, as a memorial in loving remembrance of her distinguished father and her beloved mother. According to her earnest wish, this building was erected under the surpervision of her brother, Dr. H. H. Sutton, who presented the completed building to the city of Aurora on October 13, 1914, with appropriate remarks, in conformity to the plans outlined by his generous sister, the donor.
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In the Dearborn Independent of Thursday, January 20. 1910, appeared the following beautiful tribute to Miss Sutton's worth and character, in the an- nouncement of her death by her friend, Mrs. M. E. Cobb, who had known her for many years :
"The death of Miss Georgiana Sutton was that of a very clever woman, known and loved for her forceful personality and brilliant attainments. Few women probably combined more strikingly than did Miss Sutton those quali- ties which make everyone, young and old. respect. admire and enjoy. She was ever gracious, ever courteous, and ever considerate, a pure type of gentle woman. Possessed of superior qualities of mind, her greatest pleasures were those things which cultivate the intellect. She was a lover of books and was a great reader all her life, and while not a musician, she was a lover of music and knew and enjoyed the best, never missing an opportunity to hear the famous artists and the classical music in our own and other lands. She gave freely of her happy experiences and many there are who will remember her descrip- tion of the Passion Play at Oberammergau, which she attended some years ago. She was a traveller, knowing her own land well and having made many trips abroad, visiting nearly every country in the world.
"While she was an enthusiastic traveller and enjoyed to the utmost her journeys, a strong characteristic in her nature was always made manifest on her return-her loyalty to her home city. She was always glad to return and always declared 'she never found in all of her travels more beautiful scenery. than from our own surrounding hills. Such was her devotion to her home and. its cherished surroundings that it seemed to hurt her that anyone should ever want to leave Aurora, never to return. Highly cultured, with the innate charm of gentleness and refinement, she was the noble daughter of her hon- ored father, the late Dr. George Sutton, whom she revered with a devotion above all things else.
"Miss Sutton was the president of the Aurora Woman's Research Club and also the Orphans' Club for several years. She was a most excellent presid- ing officer, always being just, impartial, yet firm. She was beloved by the members of both organizations, who were filled with regret when she gave up the offices, though always continuing in active membership. Miss Sutton will be missed, for she was so interested in everything, so genial, that her absence will be felt, there will be a void that can never be filled.
"Miss Sutton's trip to the Orient last year, though most enjoyable to her, was very trying and she came home worn out and exhausted. In her last illness she imagined herself preparing for a journey, little realizing the
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long journey into eternity. While Miss Georgiana Sutton has passed into the deep valley her memory still lives in the hearts of her friends, and with all in this community, which has been her life-long home.
"Miss Sutton was born in Aurora, September 12, 1842, the only daughter of the late Dr. George Sutton. She died at her home in this city, January 18, 1910. A life with few riffles in its stream, and filled with all the attri- butes that cheer and inspire.
'Death should come gently to one of gentle mould like thee, As light winds, wandering through groves of bloom, Detach the delicate blossoms from the trees. Close thy sweet eyes calmly, and without pain, And we will trust in God to see thee yet again.'
"M. E. C."
DR. JESSE LEROY MCELROY.
The name heading this sketch belongs to one of the well known physi- cians of Aurora, this county, a man of fine intellect, who is well informed along the lines of his chosen profession. He has demonstrated that he is skilled, thorough, and careful in all departments of his profession, and has estab- lished himself in a practice that speaks well for the regard in which he is held in the community. Doctor McElroy takes the deepest possible interest in all the cases that come under his observation, the poor receiving the same un- selfish care as do those of his wealthier patients.
Dr. Jesse Leroy McElroy, physician and surgeon, of Aurora, Indiana, is a son of Welcome R. and Mary M. (Barnett) McElroy. He was born on October 18, 1884, at Greencastle, Putnam county, Indiana, and was reared and secured his education at Reelsville, this state, graduating from the high school of that place in 1900, after which he entered DePauw University, tak- ing a three-years course. He then entered the Indiana Medical College at In- dianapolis, and was graduated from that institution in 1907, after which he served as interne at the Indianapolis city dispensary for several months. He then located at Darlington, Indiana, where he practiced for a period of one year, but, not being entirely satisfied with the location, moved his office to Aurora, where he still continues to practice. Politically, Dr. McElroy is a Democrat. He is a member of the Methodist church, and a member of Aurora Lodge No. 51, Free and Accepted Masons.
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Welcome R. McElroy, father of Doctor McElroy, is a son of William and Martha (Charlott) McElroy, and was born on May 26, 1841, in Putnam county, Indiana. He was reared at Reelsville, near Greencastle, where he was trained in the occupation of farming, and was later engaged in the mercan- tile business about twenty years. In 1861 he enlisted in Company A, Twenty- ninth Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry, serving until March 12, 1863, when he was discharged on account of illness. In 1865 Welcome R. McElroy was married to Mary M. Barnett, daughter of David and Ellen Barnett, and he then established himself in a general-merchandise business at Reelsville. He was also interested in the breeding of fine horses, and in 1880, took a premium over thirteen other exhibitors. He made his own way in the world, and never had a dollar given him, except a pension of four dollars a month. Welcome R. McElroy gives his support to the Democratic party, and is a member of the old predestinarian Baptist church. He was church trustee and deacon, and is still active in church work. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. His wife died in 1896, of pneumonia. They were the parents of eight children, Cora, Paul F., Frank D., Martha C., Ralph E., Jesse L., and two who died in infancy. Cora McElroy became the wife of Perry Mccullough, of Terre Haute, Indiana; Paul lives at Clayton, Indiana; Martha C. was the wife of David Skelton, of Greencastle, and is now deceased; Frank D. lives at Ham- mond, Indiana, and Ralph is a resident of Kokomo, Indiana.
The paternal grandfather of Doctor McElroy was William McElroy, a native of Pennsylvania and a shoemaker by trade. He married Martha Char- lott and he and his wife came to Indiana in 1837, settling in Madison township, Putnam county, where they spent the rest of their lives, Mr. McElroy dying in 1870, aged seventy-eight years, and his widow in 1875, aged seventy-nine years. They were the parents of the following children: Stephen, Henry, Welcome R., all of whom were Union soldiers during the Civil War; James, Mary, Rachel and Charlotte. Doctor McElroy's maternal grandparents were David M. and Ellen Barnett, early settlers in Putnam county, where they owned large tracts of land during the Civil War, and where Mr. Barnett con- ducted a general merchandise store, in the town of Reelsville, for about forty years. His son-in-law, Welcome R. McElroy, succeeded him in the business, which he carried on in connection with his farming ilnterests. Mr. Barnett and his wife lived to a good old age, the former dying at the age of ninety-four, and the latter at the age of seventy-eight. Shortly before their death, they moved to Hoosierville, Indiana, and thence to Janesville, Illinois, where they died. To them three children were born, Mary, Maria and a daughter who died in infancy.
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On January 18, 1909, Dr. Jesse Leroy McElroy was united in marriage to Ruby J. Campbell, who was born on August 15, 1889, at Darlington, Mont- gomery county, Indiana, the daughter of Thomas M. and Elizabeth (Hollings- worth) Campbell. Her religious sympathies are with the Methodist church. To Dr. and Mrs. McElroy one child has been born, a daughter, Wilhelmina.
Thomas M. and Elizabeth (Hollingsworth) Campbell are natives of Indiana, and still reside in Darlington. They are the parents of four children, Mrs. Catherine Walkup, Zola, Ruby J. (Mrs. McElroy) and Lawrence.
ALBERT SPANAGEL.
Among the prominent younger citizens of Lawrenceburg, who have en- joyed a successful career in business and who have been honored with positions of political trust and responsibility, no one, perhaps, has surpassed Albert Span- agel, the present postmaster of the city of Lawrenceburg. For many years Mr. Spanagel has been prominent in the Democratic councils of Lawrenceburg and Dearborn county, and after an exciting contest in 1914, received the appoint- ment as postmaster of Lawrenceburg over a large field of applicants and con- testants for this honor. The award is well deserved and the honor is well bestowed, since Mr. Spanagel has behind him an efficient and honorable record in the Lawrenceburg city council. Beginning life in a modest way he has risen gradually to a position of profound respect and esteem among his fel- low townsmen and the people of Dearborn county generally.
Albert Spanagel was born in Lawrenceburg, June 20, 1873, the son of John L. and Louisa (Meyers) Spanagel, natives of the province of Baden, Germany, who had eight sons and one daughter. John L. Spanagel spent practically his entire life in this country, having come to America at the age of fifteen, after he had completed his education in the schools of his native land. He made the voyage to America with some relatives, who located in New York City, and there he was afterwards engaged in the shoe business. Subsequently he removed to Newark, New Jersey, and was there engaged in the shoe business for some eight years. He came to Dearborn county in 1869, after locating in Lawrenceburg, engaged in the shoe business there for many years. In fact, he was active in business until within five years of his death. He was a well-known citizen and one of the old-time residents of this county. He passed away in July, 1914, at the age of eighty-three years. His wife .
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died in 1902, at the age of sixty-seven. She was a member of the Lutheran church, although her husband was a member of the Catholic church. John L. Spanagel had two brothers, John J. and Adam.
Of the nine children of John L. and Louisa . (Meyers) Spanagel, Charles lives at Lawrenceburg; John, at Cincinnati; Jacob, at Lawrenceburg; Albert, the subject of this sketch; Frank lives at Seymour, Indiana; William died at the age of twenty-one; August died at the age of twenty-four, and Harry died in infancy. There was one daughter.
Albert Spanagel's paternal grandparents never came to this country. His maternal grandparents, however, came to America and settled in Newark, New Jersey. Mr. Spanagel's mother was their only child. After the death of his maternal grandmother his grandfather married a second time and was the father of several children by the second marriage.
Albert Spanagel was educated in the public schools of Lawrenceburg and at the age of sixteen years began clerking in various stores. Subsequently learning the barber's trade, he was thus engaged for twelve years. About 1911 he engaged in the men's furnishing business, and was so engaged at the time of his appointment as postmaster, June 4, 1914. Mr. Spanagel's com- mission extends for a period of four years and his term will expire in June, 1918.
On September 12, 1902, Albert Spanagel was married to Jeanette Emmer- son, daughter of William Emmerson, to which union four children have been born, George L., Emmerson G., Elizabeth and Harry B. George L., the eldest child, died at the age of three years.
Mrs. Spanagel was born at Patriot, Indiana. Her mother having died when she was three years old, she was denied the close companionship and wise counsel of a loving mother. Her father is still living. Mrs. Spanagel was one of ten children, the others being Mary. Emma, Isabel, Grace. Carrie, Frank, William, Hally and Thomas, the latter of whom is deceased. Mrs. Spanagel's paternal grandfather, William Emmerson, who married a Miss Hally, was a well-known citizen of this state. Their children were Charlotte, Cynthia, Emma, Hattie, "Dick" and William.
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