USA > Indiana > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 73
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JOHN J. PETERS.
Jolin J. Peters, councilman-at-large for the city of Connersville and for many years engaged in the retail meat business in that city, is a native of the kingdom of Bavaria, in central Europe, but has been a resident of this country since he was seventeen years of age and of Connersville since the year 1880. He was born on May 11, 1849, son of Frank Joseph and Eliza- beth Peters, both of whom died when he was a boy.
Thus orphaned early, John J. Peters determined to make a home for himself in the newer land across the sea and in November, 1866, he then being seventeen years of age, he took passage for the United States. After a voyage of sixty-eight days on a slow sailing vessel he landed at the port of New York in January. 1867, and with little delay made his way to Cin- cinnati, presently going thence on down the river to Madison, Indiana. In his native Bavaria Mr. Peters had worked some at the trade of butcher and upon his arrival at Madison found employment in that line. He later worked at the same line in Columbus, this state, at Chicago, Indianapolis and Brookville and about 1870 obtained employment at Connersville and was there engaged for two or three years, at the end of which time he went to Indianapolis and in 1874 started a butcher shop of his own in that city. While living there, in 1876, he married and in 1880 he disposed of his inter- ests in Indianapolis and with his family returned to Connersville, where, on August 7 of that year he started a butcher shop in West Fifth street, later buying the place where he is now engaged in business in East Fifth street, and has ever since then been engaged in the retail meat trade in Conners- ville. Mr. Peters has for years given his earnest attention to local political affairs and in 1904 was elected as a member of the city council from his
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ward. In 1913 he was elected councilman-at-large for the city of Conners- ville and is now serving the public in that capacity.
As noted above, it was in 1876, at Indianapolis, that John J. Peters was united in marriage to Catherine Hill, who was born in North Vernon, this state, daughter of George and Mary Hill, and to this union eleven children have been born, all of whom are living save two, George, who died at the age of thirty-three years, unmarried, and Mary, who married Charles Wan- ley and died on May 30, 1916, leaving three children, John, Marguerite and Charles. The surviving children are as follow: Joe, who is an assistant to his father in the meat business; Frank, who married Jessie Hazelrigg and has four children, and who is engaged in the railroad service, making his home at Indianapolis; Joseph, a meat cutter, now living at Red Lake Falls, Minnesota, who married Gladys George and has one child, a son, Floyd; Henry, who is assisting his father in the meat business at Connersville; William, who is a professional wrestler, now making his home at Savannah, Georgia : Carl, who is at home, also assisting in the work of the meat market ; Kate, who married O. P. Brussard and now lives at Abbeville, Louisiana, and Helen and Marguerite, who are at home with their parents. The Peters family are members of the Catholic church and take an active interest in parish affairs. Mr. Peters is a member of the local council of the Knights of Columbus and of the local branch of the Catholic Knights of America and takes a warm interest in the affairs of both of these organizations.
PRESTON HALL KENSLER.
Preston Hall Kensler, president of the Fayette National Bank of Con- nersville and former treasurer of Fayette county, was born at Connersville and has lived there all his life. He was born on January 12, 1855, son of John and Priscilla (Krater) Kensler, and the house in which he was born, up on the west hill, is still standing and in a good state of preservation.
John Kensler was but a child when his parents, Peter Kensler and wife, moved from his native state, Virginia, to Indiana and settled in this county. He grew to manhood on a farin in this county and then began working in a brick yard in Connersville and was thus engaged when the Civil War broke out. He enlisted as a private in the Sixteenth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and went to the front. During service with his regiment at the siege of Vicksburg he lost a foot and was given a discharge, returning home
P. D. H Eccles
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when able to travel. Upon his recovery he re-enlisted for detail service in the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered out at the close of the war with an officer's commission. Upon the completion of his military service John Kensler was variously engaged at Connersville until the time of his appointment as postmaster of that city, a position he held for eight years. He afterward was for some years engaged in commercial pursuits, but lived retired for many years before his death, which occurred on a farm near Lexington, in Scott county, this state, in 1915, he then being eighty-two years of age. Mr. Kensler for many years had taken an active part in the affairs of the Grand Army of the Republic, Department of Indiana, and he also was affiliated with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, one of the oldest members of that order in Indiana. His wife, who was a native of Pennsylvania, had preceded him to the grave about two years, her death having occurred in 1913, she then being ahout eighty-two years of age. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and their children were reared in that faith. There were five of these children, of whom but two lived to maturity, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Alice, wife of J. M. Widdows, of Jennings township, this county.
Preston H. Kensler was reared in Connersville and there received his schooling. Upon leaving school he entered the postoffice with his father and for sixteen years was connected with the postoffice, or until his election to the office of county treasurer. He was re-elected to this latter office and thus served for two terms, at the end of which time he became a bookkeeper in the office of the Indiana Furniture Company at Connersville and was thus employed for three years. He then, in 1892, became interested in the organ- ization of the Fayette Banking Company at Connersville and was the first assistant cashier of that concern, later being promoted to the position of cashier, a position he retained when the bank became nationalized and reorganized as the Fayette National Bank and continued to occupy the same until his election to the presidency of the bank in 1916. The Fayette National Bank of Connersville was established on November 27, 1892, as the Fayette Banking Company, with a capital stock of $50,000. In 1904 when it was nationalized and its name changed to that it now bears the capital was increased to $100,000. The bank's latest report shows a surplus of $40,000. Mr. Kensler has always taken an active interest in the welfare and development of the city of his hirth and in addition to his banking interests has a financial connection with various other enterprises in Connersville. Mr. Kensler is a lifelong Republican and takes a warm interest in local civic affairs. For
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more than thirty-six years he has been a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias. During his active business life of nearly a half cen- tury in Connersville Mr. Kensler has been located practically all the time on one street, Central avenue, and has witnessed the wonderful industrial and commercial development of the city during that period. He has the utmost faith in the future of Connersville and no one sings the praises of the city more enthusiastically than he.
On December 18, 1883, Preston H. Kensler was united in marriage to Isabel Morrison, who was born in Hancock county, this state, and to this union one child has been born, a daughter, Madge, who married Roy C. McKennon, of Connersville, and has a daughter, Isabel. Mr. and Mrs. Kensler are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Kensler is a member of the board of trustees of the local congregation and treasurer of the same. Ile also has been treasurer of the Sunday school for more than fifteen years.
Since the foregoing sketch was written, the death of Mr. Kensler has been announced. He died at his home in Connersville on March 13, 1917.
Following the death of Mr. Kensler the Connersville newspapers car- ried very appreciative comments concerning the life and the character of the deceased and of the valuable service he had rendered the community. After giving an extensive review of Mr. Kensler's life from a biographical point of view the Daily Examiner continued : "This honored citizen occupied a place in the commercial, industrial and social life of Connersville that none save he can fill. He was a careful, shrewd and trustworthy business associate. He accepted and carried out a prominent part in the industrial advancement of his city and no man in Connersville took a more genuine interest in the city's welfare than did this worthy gentleman. He was always loyal to all trusts. Never was he known to betray a confidence. He looked upon the acts of his fellowmen as they should have been considered, and even though he knew of points open for criticism, he was never heard to speak other than with respect of anyone. Mr. Kensler was charitable. In his business dealings he was rigidly honest and he expected the same busi- ness courtesy returned. Whenever the community's needs were presented before him he was among the first to respond. In later years Mr. Kensler gave much more attention to benevolent causes and during the past ten years he was considered the leader of all such movements."
After giving an exhaustive review of the chief incidents in the life of Mr. Kensler, the Evening News concluded as follows: "About the frame-
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work of Mr. Kensler's career the minds of his friends long ago constructed a fabric of good opinion which struck deeper than any single act of his life accounts for. It was a good opinion founded upon knowledge that through all his business-and he was essentially and fundamentally a business genius -there beat the pulse of a warm heart and lived the soul that was large and friendly. Mr. Kensler loved business. He found pleasure in the success of undertakings. He devoted himself to those policies which, since the beginning of organized society, have made for monetary success, and he won such suc- cess in liberal measure, and was quietly delighted as his victory accumulated. But he loved nothing better than his own home and fireside; he was devoted to all of his family, and his friends meant more to him than he could have found words to express."
In that same issue of the News there was carried a thoughtful apprecia- tion from the pen of one of the most intimate friends of the deceased, Hyatt L. Frost, from which the following excerpt is made: "He was truly broad gauged in his views of business and the affairs of others. He had the faculty of seeing the other fellow's rights. His sympathy was with the weaker antagonist. If he ever obtruded an unwelcome sentiment the manner of its saying was so kindly as to leave no sting. Perhaps none lived in Fayette county who hurt others' feelings fewer times in proportion to the occasions when such could have been done by manner other than the most kindly- than did Preston H. Kensler."
J. O. MASSEY.
J. O. Massey, superintendent of the city waterworks at Connersville, was born on March 7. 1868. son of James M. and Matilda Massey, the former of whom was born in Franklin county, this state, and the latter in the state of Ohio. James M. Massey grew to manhood in Franklin county and became an expert horseman, following that line of business at Brook- ville until the early seventies, when he moved to Connersville, where he is still living and where he ever since has made his home.
Having been but a child when his parents moved to Connersville, J. O. Massey was reared in that city and received his schooling in the local schools. Upon leaving school he for awhile followed the barber trade in his home town and then became a machinist in the employ of the P. H. & F. M. Roots Company of Connersville and presently became so proficient in that line that
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he was made a traveling expert machinist for the Roots company and served in that capacity for a number of years, later taking employment with the Wainwright Machine Company and still later with the McFarlan Automo- bile Company. In January, 1914, Mr. Massey was appointed superintendent of the Connersville city waterworks plant and now has full charge of the local waterworks system, rendering admirable service in that important capacity. Mr. Massey is a Democrat and has ever taken an active interest in local political affairs, long having been regarded as one of the leaders in his party in this county. .
In 1897 J. O. Massey was united in marriage to Florence Smith, daugh- ter of Edward Smith and wife, and to this union five children have been born, Edward J., Everet L., Thelma M., Bernice O. and Glenn L. Mr. Massey is a member of the local aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and of the local lodge of the Improved Order of Red Men and in the affairs of these organizations takes a warm interest.
WARDEN HALLADAY.
Warden Halladay, secretary and general manager of the National Moorish Tile Flooring Company, of Connersville, and for years one of the most active figures in the industrial life of that city, was born at Cincinnati, Ohio, June 19, 1869, son of James HI. and Jennie ( Warden ) Halladay, both now deceased.
James H. Halladay, an honored veteran of the Civil War, was born in Albany, New York, as was his wife, and they were married in that city. Upon the breaking out of the Civil War James H. Halladay enlisted for service in the Twenty-seventh Reginient, New York Volunteer Infantry, and served with that command for four years and seven months, being pro- moted from first lieutenant to regimental quartermaster and during the last seven months of his service was quartermaster under General Mcclellan. During his service he was captured by the enemy on one occasion and served for a time as a prisoner of war in Virginia. As a mark of appreciation for the excellence of his service there was presented to him a valuable gold watch, the inscription on the back of which reads as follows: "Presented to James H. Halladay, March. 1865, as a testimonial of the regard and esteem of many friends." Among these "many friends" were General Mcclellan, Colonel McClung, H. R. Saffin, a first lieutenant in Colonel McClung's regiment,
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and others. That watch has been carried by the recipient's son, Warden Halladay, the subject of this sketch, for twenty-five years and in all that time has never required the attention of a watchsmith. Upon the comple- tion of his military service Mr. Halladay located in Cincinnati and for five years was cashier of the First National Bank of that city. He then became secretary-treasurer of the Emerson-Fisher Carriage Company and was engaged in that capacity at the time of his death in 1876. His widow sur- vived him many years, her death occurring on November 1, 1912.
Warden Halladay was about seven years of age when his father died. He grew up in Cincinnati and there completed his schooling, being gradu- ated from the Woodward high school in that city in 1885, that school at that time being one of the most famous high schools in the country, students from all over the Middle West seeking entrance to the same. Upon leaving school Mr. Halladay became engaged as a clerk in the Third National Bank in Cincinnati and was thus engaged for three years, at the end of which time he transferred his services to the office of the auditor of the Adams Express Company in that city. Later he was employed in an official capacity in the offices of the Emerson-Fisher Carriage Company and was thus engaged for six years. He then spent two years in the South as representative in Atlanta for the Proctor & Gamble Company, of Cincinnati. At the end of that service he returned to Cincinnati and remained there until 1899, in which year he located at Connersville, taking there a position with the Central Manufacturing Company, as superintendent of the plant. About 1908 he became a stockholder in that company and continued his connection with the same until the fall of 1916, when he and others organized the National Moorish Tile Flooring Company of Connersville, Mr. Halladay being elected secretary of the company and general manager of the plant, which positions he now occupies.
The National Moorish Tile Flooring Company of Connersville is the only concern of its kind in the United States and its product already has created a wide market. "Moorish" tile, however, is not a new product for it has been manufactured for centuries in Europe, particularly in Germany, Italy and France, and also is manufactured in Japan, while for two hundred years its manufacture has been an important industry in Havana, Cuba. The Grecians used this form of tile extensively in the construction of their tem- ples and the art of its manufacture was acquired from them by the Romans. The process of making this tile has been guarded closely by the descendants of the ancient tilewrights so that today there are only a few persons who
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have the formula. These tiles are highly ornamental and the claim is made by their manufacturers that they surpass in wearing qualities any known flooring. It was in the latter part of September, 1916, that the National Moorish Tile Flooring Company was organized by E. P. Hawkins, Charles Rieman, F. R. Leeds and Warden Halladay. The company is capitalized for fifty thousand dollars and its officers are as follow: President, E. P. Hawkins; vice-president, Charles Rieman ; treasurer, Marion Jemison, and secretary and general manager, Warden Halladay.
In 1895 Warden Halladay was united in marriage to Lulu Ross, of Cincinnati, daughter of Abner L. and Elizabeth S. (Stoker) Ross, the former of whom was born at Lebanon, Ohio, and the latter in Liverpool, England. Abner L. Ross, an honored veteran of the Civil War, was at one time the owner of Lookout Inn at Lookout Mountain: Rossmore Hotel, at Rome, Georgia, and of Kennedy Hotel, Chattanooga, and became quite wealthy. He moved from Cincinnati to Los Angeles, California, seeking in the latter city restoration of health and there died in 1883. His .widow married J. L. Hite, now deceased, president of the Leaf Tobacco Association and former president of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, and is still living at Cincinnati. Mr. and Mrs. Halladay are members of the Presby- terian church and take a proper interest in church affairs and in the general social activities of their home city. Mr. Halladay is a Republican, an active worker in the party ranks, but has never been a seeker after public office.
CLARENCE E. PORTER.
Clarence E. Porter, the well-known photographer at Connersville, was born in the vicinity of that city and has lived in this county all his life. He was born on a farm three miles southwest of Connersville on March 10, 1878, son of W. R. and Alice ( Martin) Porter, both of whom also were born in this county, members of pioneer families, and who are now living pleasantly retired.
Reared on the home farm, Clarence E. Porter received his schooling in the district schools in the neighborhood of his home and as a young man turned his attention to photography, in which he had been much interested from childhood. After working three years in a local photograph studio he took a course in the F. W. Guering School of Photography and upon his return to Connersville entered the studio of J. M. Kellum, which establish-
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ment he purchased in 1909 and has since been operating the same. Mr. Porter has been very successful in his line and has remodeled and refurnished his place at the cost of several thousand dollars since taking possession of the same, now having one of the most up-to-date and completely equipped photograph studios in eastern Indiana. His work possesses that distinctive quality so highly desired in modern photography and he thus has naturally built up a large business, Porter photographs being widely recognized throughout this part of the state for their general excellence of tone and . execution.
Mr. Porter is a member of the Christian church. Politically, he gives his allegiance to the Republican party and, fraternally, he is affiliated with the local lodge of the Improved Order of Red Men. He takes an active interest in the general business affairs of his home city and is one of Conners- ville's faithful "boosters", helpful in promoting the city's advancement in all proper ways.
ERWIN H. HAHN.
Erwin H. Hahn, president and manager of the Hahn Accessory Com- pany at Connersville and one of the best-known and most enterprising young business men in that city, was born at Batesville, Indiana, December 5. 1891. son of William and Bertha ( Schaefer) Hahn, the former a native of this state and the latter a native of Ohio, who were the parents of two children, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Norma.
William Hahn was born in Ripley county, son of Henry Hahn and wife, who came to this country from Germany and became pioneers in Ripley county, this state. Henry Hahn is a cabinet-maker and is still living. His wife died some years ago. They had two children, William and Anna. William Hahn also was trained to the trade of a cabinet-maker and worked in furniture factories most of his life. the latter years of his life being spent at Batesville, where he died on March 28, 1898, at the age of thirty-three years. He was a member of the German Lutheran church as is his widow, and their children were reared in that faith. His widow is now living at Connersville with her son and daughter and her brother, Joseph C. . Schaefer, makes his home with her. the family making their home at 1931 Vermont avenue. Mrs. Hahn's parents were born in Germany and upon coming to this country located at Cincinnati, where her father worked in a planing mill and where he died when well past middle age.
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Erwin H. Hahn was about six years of age when his father died and shortly afterward his mother left Batesville with him and his sister and moved to Cincinnati, where the family lived for about five years, at the end of which time they returned to Indiana and located at Connersville, which has been the family home ever since. Upon completing the course in the public schools Erwin H. Hahn returned to Cincinnati and there took a course in a commercial college, after which he returned home and began working in . the office of the Lexington-Howard Motor Company and was presently placed in charge of the service department of that company's plant. After having been thus engaged for some time he made a trip to California and upon his return to Connersville interested F. B. Ansted, one of the city's leading law- yers and manufacturers, in the organization of a garage and automobile- accessory company at that place and has since been engaged in that business, the firm doing business under the style of the Hahn Accessory Company, incorporated. Erwin H. Hahn is president of the company ; F. B. Ansted, vice-president, and William F. Thomas, secretary-treasurer.
Mr. Hahn is a Republican. Though reared in the Lutheran faith he attends the services of the Christian church. He is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men and in the affairs of that organization takes a warm interest.
WILLIAM H. SHERRY.
The late William H. Sherry, for years one of Connersville's best-known millmen, was a native son of this county and lived here all his life. He was born on a pioneer farm two and one-half miles east of Connersville, Novem- ber 19, 1853, son of Daniel and Sarah (George) Sherry, both natives of Fayette county and members of old families here, the Sherrys having come here from Pennsylvania and the Georges from Ohio. Daniel Sherry was a farmer and saw-mill man and also operated a threshing-machine. He was a member of the Lutheran church and his wife was a member of the Meth- odist church. He died in East Connersville on March 16, 1912, and his widow survived him but little more than eighteen months, her death occurring in November, 1913. They were the parents of seven children, of whom the subject of this memorial sketch was the last in order of birth, the others being as follow : Edward, who is living on a farm near Everton, this county ; Emma, wife of Frank Scholl, of the neighboring county of Rush; Rozzie,
MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM H. SHERRY.
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wife of John Madison, of Chicago; Ella, wife of Isaac Still, of East Conners- ville, Marshall, deceased, and Quincy, of East Connersville.
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