History of Indianapolis and Marion County, Indiana, Part 42

Author: Sulgrove, Berry R. (Berry Robinson), 1828-1890
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 942

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brother, Maj. Eli W. Malott, in mercantile ventures. The family settled in Kentucky soon after the close of the Revolutionary war, in which some of its mem- bers participated. The paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch engaged in the war of 1812 in Canada, and his maternal grandfather in the Indian war in Indiana. William H. Malott died Nov. 5, 1845, leaving a young widow with three small chil- dren,-Volney T., Mary C., and Eli W. (an infant, who died one month after the death of his father). Mrs. Malott, in 1847, married John F. Ramsey, and removed with her two young children to Indianapo- lis. Volney T., who was born in Jefferson County, Ky., Sept. 9, 1838, attended first a school taught by John I. Morrison, and later completed a common- school education here, first under Rev. William A. Holliday, and afterwards with Professor B. F. Lang and at the Central High School. At the age of sixteen he entered the banking-house of John Woolley & Co. (Bank of the Capital), having previously been em- ployed as clerk during vacations "and for a time as inessenger in the Traders' Bank. This early apti- tude for business made his services in demand and sccured a desirable position for the young man when he should desire to embark in the active pursuits of life. For a while he acted as teller of the bank he first entered, and in 1857 was chosen teller of the Indianapolis branch of the Bank of the State of In- diana, where he remained until August, 1862, re- signing to accept the position of secretary and trcas- urer of the Peru and Indianapolis Railroad, to which he had been elected. He was appointed State director of the branch bank in 1864. In 1865 he, with others, organized the Merchants' National Bank of Indianapolis, and was elected cashier, retaining the office of treasurer of the railroad. .

In the spring of 1870 be resigned the office of cashier of the bank to take charge of the construction of the Michigan City and Indianapolis Railroad. The road was completed early in 1871, and, with the Chicago, Cincinnati and Louisville Railroad, passed under control of the Indianapolis, Peru and Chicago Railway Company (formerly Peru and Indianapolis Railroad Company), of which he was treasurer and a director. In 1875 he was elected general manager of

the road, continuing until 1879, when he was elected vice-president, having charge of the road as acting president until 1884, when it was leased to the Wa- bash, St. Louis and Pacific Railroad Company. In October, 1878, he was elected president of the Mer- chants' National Bank, and in 1882 sold his interest in the bank and resigned the presidency, purchasing shares in the Indiana National Bank, which was the successor of the branch of the Bank of the State of Indiana, where he was formerly teller ; he was elected president of the bank, which position he holds at this time. As an officer of the Brazil Block Coal Company, he has aided in the extension of the block coal trade to Northern Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois. He has taken a deep interest in the improvement of Michigan City harbor, and by his counsel and labor has ren- dered valuable aid to this important work. In July, 1883, he was elected vice-president and manager of the Indianapolis Union Railway Company, lessees of the Belt Railroad. He is also a member of the firm of John Hilt & Co., wholesale ice dealers of Laporte, Ind., the earliest firm of exclusively wholesale ice dealers in the State. Mr. Malott, in 1862, married Miss Caroline, daughter of Hon. David Macy, of Indianapolis. Their children are a son and five daughters. The great success that has been obtained by Mr. Malott in his various business enterprises is due to his steady persistence, stern integrity, and ex- cellent judgment, qualities that rank him with the leading financiers of the State. The subject of this biographical sketch is in his religious predilections a Methodist and member of Meridian Street Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is trustee and chair- man of the finance committec.

The first national bank organized here was formed by William H. English and ten associates, on the 11th of May, 1853, with a capital of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and the name of the " First National Bank," and located in Odd-Fellows' Hall. Its capital was increased to one million dol- lars in 1870, but reduced to about half some years later when business declined. William R. Nof- singer, treasurer of State in 1855, was the first cashier. He was succeeded by Lewis Jordan, and he by John C. New in 1865. The bank was re-

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moved the following October to the Blackford Block, where it still is. Mr. New became president in 1877, purchasing Mr. English's interest, the latter retiring until August, 1883, when the bank became embar- rassed by its connection with the Indiana Banking Company and other co-operating troubles, and Mr. English, with Mr. De Pauw and Mr. Claypool, formed a combination to protect it and take the affair in their own hands. Satisfactory arrange- ments were made with the other stockholders, de- positors paid, the capital enlarged, and the bank set firmly on its feet again, with Mr. English as president.

The " Citizens' National Bank" was the second of its class organized here. It was effected Nov. 28, 1864, with two hundred thousand dollars capital. The prime mover in its organization and its first president was Isaiah Mansur, with Asa G. Petti- bone as cashier. In December, 1865, it coalesced with the "Fourth National Bank," organized the previous January by T. Richardson Fletcher, for many years previously a partner of Stoughton A. Fletcher, Sr., in the " Fletcher Bank," with Joseph R. Haugh as cashier, and doing business in the Yohn Block on North Meridian Strect. A removal of the combined banks was then made to No. 2 East Wash- ington Strect, and a few years later to the four-story stone-front building erected especially for it on the south side of East Washington Street, where it now is. Joseph R. Haugh was made cashier of the com- bination, which retained the name of " Citizens' National Bank." Mr. Mansur's health compelled his retirement from the presidency in 1868, but he subsequently opened a private bank on the corner of Alabama and Washington Streets, which he con- ducted till his death. He was succeeded by the late W. Canada Holmes.

ISAIAH MANSUR .- The parents of Mr. Mansur were Jeremy Mansur, a native of New Hampshire, and Jane Carr, born in Virginia, who emigrated to Indiana in 1816, and settled in the county of Wayne, where their son Isaiah was born on the 14th of April, 1824. His father combined the occupation of an axe-maker with that of a farmer, in both of which he was known as a master of his craft. The family, in 1825, removed from their first location

to Richmond, Ind., when Mr. Mansur opened a retail dry-goods and grocery-store, and by industry and attention to the wants of his patrons succeeded in establishing a lucrative trade, whereby he gained a competency. He continued in business at Richmond until 1847, and then removed to Indianapolis, where he engaged in pork-packing, which, together with farming, was followed until his death in 1874. It will be readily seen that his son Isaiah, from early childhood, breathed an atmosphere of industry which left an impress upon his character, and largely moulded his subsequent career. His early educa- tion was obtained at the public schools and at the Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, where his studies were completed in 1845. While at college he was the room-mate of the late Senator O. P. Morton, with whom a friendship was formed which lasted during the latter's lifetime. It was largely through his friend's assistance that Mr. Morton was enabled to finish his course, his means being exceedingly lim- ited. After leaving Oxford Mr. Mansur engaged with his father in the pork-packing business for one season, working as a day laborer for wages; but con- cluding to make the law his profession, he entered the office of Hon. John S. Newman, when he was again associated in his studies with the future Sena- tor Morton. After reading law for eigliteen months his father's failing health compelled his return the business, which had reached large proportions and required his presence. His entire attention was given to the pork-packing interests-then, as now, one of the important industries of Indianapolis ---- until 1862, when he projected and established the Citizens' National Bank of Indianapolis, of which he became president. He continued in that capacity until 1868, when his connection with this bank ceased, and he immediately opened a private bank- ing-house. During the stirring times of the late war Mr. Mansur was appointed commissary-general of the State of Indiana by Governor Morton, and rendered valuable service to the cause of the Union, feeding the soldiers in camp at Indianapolis on his owo credit when the State treasury was depleted. Mr. Mansur was always a consistent member of the Republican party, though not active as a politician.

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He was never desirous of official place, and gave his energies entirely to business, whichi aside from his banking enterprise included the management of a large amount of real estate, of which he was the owner. He was a man of strict business principles, of persistent energy, and of untiring application to the object in view. His industry was especially one of the important factors in his success, He was widely known as a shrewd, careful, enterprising man, whose integrity was unquestioned. These qualities rendered his career a prosperous one, and placed his name upon the roll of citizens who have shaped the business destinies of the capital of Indiana. His death occurred Dec. 3, 1880. A widow and two children survive him.

WILLIAM CANADA HOLMES .- William Holmes, the father of William Canada, was a native of West- moreland County, Pa., but removed at an early age to Ohio, and in 1821 settled in Marion County, Ind., where he became an influential citizen and resided until his death in 1858. He married Elizabeth Lyons and had twelve children, of whom the third son, the subject of this sketch, was born on the homestead May 23, 1826. He received a fair Eng- lish education, and at the age of seventeen assumed the management of his father's saw-mill, which he continued to run until he had attained his twentieth year. He had, besides materially assisting his father, acquired a small capital, and finding the business profitable, continued it for a period of sixteen years. He was married, Dec. 15, 1849, to Miss Catharine, second daughter of James Johnson, to whom were born children,-Sarah Alice (Mrs. George W. John- son), M. Ellen, Martha Ann (Mrs. Frank L. Fergu- son), Johnson Canada, Catharine Snively, Rose Han- nah, and two who died in childhood. In 1857, Mr. Holmes purchased the property known as the Isaac Pugh farm and built upon it an elegant residence, which was for many years the home of the family. By the purchase of an interest in the Fourth National Bank of Indianapolis, in 1865, Mr. Holmes became its president. This bank was later consoli- dated with the Citizens' National Bank, of which he also acted as president. He then formed a copart- nership with Messrs. Coffin & Landers, for the pur-

pose of purchasing and packing pork, under the firmu- name of Coffin, Holmes & Landers, which continued for one year, after which he became a member of the firm of Holmes, Pettit & Bradshaw. This firm conducted an extensive business in pork-packing, the building and grounds alone costing over one hundred thousand dollars. In 1880 he established, with his partner, the firm of Holmes & Claypool, proprietors of the Indianapolis Hominy Mills, having prior to that date been largely engaged in the manu- facture of staves near Cairo, Ill. He was one of the promoters of the Union Railway Transfer and Stock- Yard Company, of which he was a director. Mr. Holmes evinced much public spirit, and in various ways promoted the material growth of Indianapolis. He donated both land and large sums of money to aid in the erection of manufacturing establishments. He was a man of great executive ability, immense industry, and of strict integrity. These qualities as a rule rendered his business ventures successful. He was a Republican in his political affiliations, but not actively interested in party differences nor a seeker for official honors. He was a member of the Central Christian Church of Indianapolis, as also his wife and two daughters. The death of Mr. Holmes occurred Nov. 27, 1883, in his fifty-eighth year.

The " Indianapolis National Bank" was organized Dec. 15, 1864, with Theodore P. Haughey as presi- dent, and Ingram Fletcher as cashier. Mr. Fletcher was succeeded in 1866 by Mr. A. F. Williams. The capital of the bank is five hundred thousand dollars, its location the corner room of Odd-Fellows' Hall. Mr. Haughey is still president; Henry Latham is cashier.

THEODORE P. HAUGHEY .- The birth of Theodore P. Haughey occurred in Smyrna, Del., on the 26th of November, 1826. Here he remained until early manhood and enjoyed such advantages of education as the neighboring schools afforded, when Baltimore, Md., became his home. In the spring of 1848, having acquired a thorough business education, he removed to Indianapolis, where, since that date, le has been actively engaged in many of its most im- portant interests. He at first obtained employment as an accountant and book-keeper, and gradually rose

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to more lucrative and responsible positions. In the year 1854 he was connected with IIon. John D. De- frees in the publication of the Indianapolis Journal. For a number of years Mr. Haughey was secretary and treasurer of one of the leading railroads centre- ing in Indianapolis. During the civil war he was appointed by President Lincoln collector of internal revenue for the Indianapolis distriet. This office, which was the only one of a political nature he was prevailed upon to accept, was resigned in 1864, to

represented the Second Ward in the City Council of Indianapolis, and, in deference to his ability as a financier, was made chairman of the finance commit- tee. Just prior to the late war he had the pleasure of reporting the city free of debt. He has been for thirty years treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Inde- pendent Order of Odd-Fellows of Indiana, and wielded no little influence in shaping the prosperous condition of its treasury. This is said to be one of the most flourishing and wealthy lodges in the Union.

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enter upon his duties as president of the Indianapolis National Bank, which position he still holds, being the oldest national bank president in the city. He enjoys the reputation of being a shrewd, careful, and conscientious financier, living up to every obligation, while free from the narrow-minded prejudices of the mere seeker after wealth. He has ever manifested a deep interest in the progress of education, and for a number of years has been a trustee of the Asbury Uni- versity at Greencastle, and one of the supervisory loan committee of its fund. Mr. Haughey for six years

Mr. Haughey is a liberal supporter of all worthy en- terprises, and for years has been a prominent member of the Meridian Street Methodist Episcopal Church of the city of his residence. He represented the Indiana Conference as a lay delegate in the General Conference held at Baltimore in 1876, and has been otherwise active in church and Sunday-school work.

Personally Mr. Haughey is a gentleman of genial character and uniformily courteous in his demeanor. He is close in his attention to business, devoid of pretence in his manner, and considerate of the opin-

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ions of others. On the 8th of November, 1853, he was married to Miss Hannah, daughter of C. G. Moore, of Newark, Ohio. Their children are two sons and a daughter, the latter of whom died at the age of six years. The elder son, Louis Chauncey, is engaged in manufacturing, and married to Miss Zelda, daughter of William Wallace, Esq. The younger son, Schuyler C., was named after Sehuyler Colfax, a lifelong friend of his father.

The " Merchants' National Bank" was organized Jan. 17, 1865, with one hundred thousand dollars capital, and Henry Schnull as president, and V. T. Malott as cashier. It was at first located at 23 North Meridian Street, and then removed to 48 East Wash- ington, and in the fall of 1883 to the rooms of the " Indiana Banking Company," in Hubbard's Block. In January, 1882, John P. Frenzel was elected pres- ident, and his brother Otto cashier. Mr. Frenzel, the president, has been connected with the bank sixteen years. He is a member of the school board and one of the three metropolitan police commissioners. John S. Newman succeeded Mr. Schnull in the presidency in 1866. Dr. Harvey G. Carey was for some years one of the leading men in the ownership and man- agement of this bank, but retired recently.

HARVEY GATCH CAREY, M.D., an account of whose ancestry will be found in the sketch of his brother, Simeon B., was born in Shelby County, Ohio, on the 18th of August, 1826. He remained upon the farm of his father until sixteen years of age, em- ployed in such aetive labor as is incident to an agri- cultural life. At the age of sixteen, feeling the want of better educational advantages than were offered by the winter terms of country schools, he left home and entered the academy of Harrison Maltley, in Sidney, Ohio, where he remained two years, and acquired a fair English education and enough knowledge of the ancient languages as to enable him sucecssfully to proseente the study of the profession upon which he was about to enter. Here also he formed the habits of systematic study and thought that moulded and characterized his professional life. At the termina- tion of his academic course he commeneed the study of medicine with Dr. Henry S. Conklin, an eminent physician in that part of Ohio, where he remained

for three years, and in the mean while attended lec- tures in the Medical College of Ohio, at Cincinnati, which embraced in its faculty some of the most distin- guished teachers in the country. Though qualified to pass a successful examination at the end of the second course, he was too young to be admitted to a degree, and at the termination of the third term of lectures, in a competitive examination of one hundred and fifty students, he was elected physician to the Com- mereial Hospital of Cincinnati, where he served the usual term of one year. The large clinical experi- ence thus acquired fitted him at once to take a high rank in his profession.

In April, 1849, he located in Dayton, Ohio, and continued in the practice of his profession until 1863, the date of his removal to Indianapolis. Epidemie cholera made its appearance in Dayton soon after lie opened his office, and, having had some experience with this formidable disease in the hospital, it served as a means of securing an early professional recogni- tion and practice, which eamc to him promptly, and increased until it became the most desirable and Incrative in the city. The doctor found ample time during the early years of his professional life to culti- vate the literature of his profession, and was an active, working member of the local, State, and national medical societies, and was also a regular contributor to the medical journals of that time. Finding his health suffering, the doetor, notwithstanding his sue- eess as a practitioner, determined to divest himself of its exactions and devote himself to new business in- terests that then offered, and identified himself with the management of the Indiana Central Railroad as its superintendent. In 1863 and 1864, as eontractor, he built the Richmond and Covington Railroad, which forms the present continuous line from Columbus to Indianapolis. Having sold his interest in the Co- lumbus and Indianapolis Railroad, he became a leading stockholder in the Merchants' National Bank of Indi- anapolis, and continued his relations with this bank, as director, vice-president, or president, until 1879, when he retired from active business. He is now a member of the firm of Layman, Carey & Co., where he has held an interest sinee his retirement from the bank. Dr. Carey was married, Nov. 25, 1851, to Mary

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Ellen, daughter of Judge John S. Newman, of Cen- treville, Wayne Co., Ind. Their children are Ger- trude N., married to Dr. Henry Jameson ; John N., married to Mary Stewart; Sidney H., infant (de- ceased) ; and Jacob Lowe. The doctor manifests a deep interest in the public schools of Indianapolis. Professor A. C. Shortridge, Austin H. Brown, and the subject of this sketch drafted and secured the enactment of the.present law under which the public schools of the city of Indianapolis are so snceessfully managed. He has been, with the exception of one term, continuously a member of the board of con- missioners since the passage of the law in 1871, and most of this period its treasurer. By patient perseverance and application he laid the foundation for a career of exceptional success in his profession, while a thorough scholastie training eminently quali- fied him for his connection with the educational interests of the city. The doctor is in politics a Republican, having identified himself with that party on its formation. He has been since his twenty-first year a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and held official relations with the Meridian Street Methodist Episcopal Church, which he aided in building, since his residence in Indianapolis.

David Macy has been a prominent man in several lines of enterprise that have contributed to the up- building of Indianapolis. He was one of the leading pork-paekers before the war; was subsequently one of the most prominent and efficient of our railroad managers as president of the Peru road, and is equally prominent and respected as a bank manager. He is now president of the Meridian National Bank, which was organized in 1871, with the late John H. Farquhar as president, and Charles F. Hogate as cashier. The present capital is two hundred thou- sand dollars. F. P. Woollen is the cashier.

HON. DAVID MACY .- The Macy family are of English descent, the earliest representative in America having been Thomas Macy, who resided in the parish of Chilmark, near Salisbury, in the county of Wilt- shire, England. He embarked for America about the year 1635, and. settled near Newbury, Mass., in the year 1659. Owing to the persecutions he and others suffered from the Puritans, the island of Nan-

tucket was purchased by them from the Indians. He with his family embarked the same year, and located where the village of Nantucket now stands. In the direct line of descent was Joseph Macy, who resided on the same spot until thirty years of age, when he removed to Gnilford, N. C., and engaged in milling and other enterprises. He married a Miss Mary Starbuck, of Massachusetts, and had among his chil- dren Albert Macy, born in 1774, at Nantueket, who, when a child, emigrated with his parents to North Carolina, where he was reared. He married Nancy Wall, of Virginia, and had children,-Joseph, Eliza- beth, Hiram, David, Phœbe, William, Mahala, and Lydia. David, of this number, was born Dee. 25, 1810. He removed with his parents, when but ten years of age, to Indiana, and settled in Randolph County, then very thinly settled. He labored on the farm of his father until eighteen years of age, assist- ing in clearing the ground, rolling and burning logs, making rails, and doing other work incident to the life of a pioneer. During the winter months a common-school education was acquired at the country school of the neighborhood. He then began work with Hiram Maey, his brother, as a millwright, and continued thus employed for nearly three years. He then abandoned his trade and began the study of law at Centreville, Wayne Co., in the same State. Having applied himself with diligence for two years, he was admitted to the bar March 3, 1832, his license having been granted by Hon. Charles H. Test and Hon. M. C. Eggleston, the circuit judges. The same year he began practice at New Castle, Henry Co., and in 1833 he was licensed to practice in the Supreme Court of the State, and in 1835 be- eame a candidate for representative in the State Leg- islature, to which office he was elected for that and the two succeeding terms. During his official career he was one of the most earnest advocates of the sys- tem of internal improvements, and supported meas- ures for the appropriation of funds to aid in the construction of railroads, canals, turnpikes, and high- ways in various portions of the State. No little credit for the achievements of Indiana in this matter is due to his energetic and whole-souled advocacy. Mr. Macy was, in 1838, eleeted by the Legislature

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History of Indianapolis and Marion County, Indiana, Part 42

Author: Sulgrove, Berry R. (Berry Robinson), 1828-1890 Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 942

Author: Sulgrove, Berry R. (Berry Robinson), 1828-1890
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 942