History of the Indiana democracy, 1816-1916, Part 132

Author: Stoll, John B., 1843-1926
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Indianapolis : Indiana Democratic Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1104

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Mr. Ferguson is a true Hoosier, born in this state on the third day of October, 1869. He at- tended the public schools of Terre Haute, and early in life became interested in coal mining in the surrounding fields. In Clinton his interests have centered and his activities have been most marked.

On the thirteenth day of June, 1904, he was married to Miss Leora Campbell. Their home, then established in this community, has extended hospitality to a host of friends throughout the state; and in the various enterprises which have been in his care she has proved a worthy second.

In November, 1909, he was elected to the position of mayor of Clinton, and the responsibilities of this office were assumed early in the following year. During his incumbency of this office its af- fairs were carried on with characteristic energy and zeal. Finding, however, that his private af- fairs must suffer if his full duty were accomplished in his public capacity, he resigned at the expi-

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ration of his second year of service, and has since devoted his energies to carrying forward the work of the Clinton Coal Company, of which he is general manager and a heavy stockholder. For twelve years he has been a member of the executive board of the Indiana Coal Operators' Asso- ciation. This position has brought him in close touch with work for the rescue of miners and first aid in mine accidents, and in this connection he has contributed valued service in behalf of the em- ployes and operators.

When a movement was instituted for establishing a public library in Clinton Mr. Ferguson was one of the most active promotors, and the consummation of the plan in the fine library which this community now enjoys has been a source of unmixed satisfaction to him. He has been a member of the executive board of this institution since its organization.

In fraternal circles Mr. Ferguson is perhaps best known through his connection with the Knights of Pythias, he having been an active member of this organization for the past twenty-five years, and a member of the Uniform Rank, Terre Haute Company, for eleven years. His work as captain of the Clinton Company Uniform Rank, for the past nine years has won high honor and dis- tinction for himself and his company at the various national and state encampments at which they have drilled. He also enjoys membership in the Illinois Athletic Club of Chicago, having been asso- ciated with this organization for the past ten years.

Politically, Mr. Ferguson has been a consistent adherent to the principles of Jefferson, and has been actively interested in the promotion of the interests of Democracy in his home community.

THOMAS FERGUSON

The career of Thomas Ferguson, elected auditor of Vigo county in 1914, is unique and interesting, and his rapid rise from miner to county auditor is evidence of his remarkable energy and ability.

Mr. Ferguson is a native of this county, born on the first day of Febru- ary, 1874; and received his education in the common schools of his district. When but fifteen years of age, his father passed from this life, and it fell to the lot of the two sons to support themselves and the mother and sister; so Thomas found employment in a coal mine, and here he labored until the fall of 1908.

At the age of nineteen years he was united in marriage to Miss Stella May Baker, their union being solemnized on the 26th day of April, 1893. On the 15th day of May, 1908, however, death claimed her. On the 26th of November, 1908, he was married to Miss Blanch E. Moore.

In the fall of 1907 he was elected to the office of city councilman of Seelyville, and the following year assumed the duties and greater responsi- bilities of township trustee. In the fall of 1914 he received the nomination for county auditor, and in the election which followed was elected to this position. When he became township trustee the Democratic poll showed a Republican majority in the township of 165; but Mr. Ferguson received a majority of 44 votes.

Fraternally he is allied with Brazil Lodge No. 264, F. and A. M .; K. of P. Lodge No. 391, and I. O. O. F. No. 865 of Seelyville; and the Eagles and Loyal Order of Moose of Terre Haute.

J. A. FIELDS

A. J. Fields is the scion of a long line of sterling ancestry, his forebears having participated in the Revolutionary war and in the war of 1812.

Mr. Fields was born in Lawrence county, Indiana, August 26, 1879, and his early education was received in Martin county. He was graduated from the Shoals high school and then entered Indi- ana University, from which institution he was graduated in 1904 with the degree of bachelor of laws. In September of the same year he entered upon the practice of law and has since been thus successfully engaged.

In 1909 Mr. Fields was elected mayor of Bedford and during his administration the city made great strides, there being made valuable additions to the water works system, new lighting con- tracts more favorable to the city, an increase in street lighting, the installation of boulevard lights, and, notwithstanding the improvements, more than $25,000 of Bedford's indebtedness was paid off.

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Mr. Fields was the second Democratic mayor to have been elected in Bedford, and in 1913 he was re-elected. His sound business judgment has earned him the commendation of his fellow citizens. Mr. Fields is a Mason, a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, and is also affiliated with the Elks and the Moose.

J. C. FISHEL

J. C. Fishel has attained prominence in his native state by unusual business ability, coupled with aggressive, untiring labor at his chosen vocation, that of a breeder of fine poultry. He was born in Hope, Bartholomew county, Indiana, on the 9th day of July, 1858, and here his education was obtained and his life has been spent. In the year 1879 he was married to Miss Miranda Schultz, a graduate of the female seminary of the place. A splendid family have come to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Fishel, and now five sons have added their names to the list of loyal Democrats, and three daughters are their mother's faithful assistants. Mr. Fishel has consistently voted the Democratic ticket throughout his life and is held in high regard by his constituents, as is evidenced by the fact that he was for four years a member of the town council of Hope and was appointed as postmaster of Hope by President Wilson, in which capacity he is now serving the public. As a business man he has, together with his brother, Ulysses, demonstrated the possibilities of their chosen vocation, breeders of fine poultry, and each in his particular breed of stock is surpassed by none. Diligent, skillful and aggressive, he has added much to the prestige of his native town, and has gained a national reputation.

ULYSSES R. FISHEL

The name of Ulysses R. Fishel is known throughout Indiana as that of a man loyal always to the principles of Democracy, and also as an active and aggressive business man. His birth occurred on the 23rd day of November, 1866, in the little town of Hope, and here he passed through the various stages of childhood and man- hood, attending the public schools of the place, and finally developing with the growth of the place into a man of affairs. As breeders of high grade poultry he and his brother have become known not only throughout this state, but throughout the United States, and in farming sections particularly the name of Fishel is a house- hold word. His stock has won prizes in five international expositions and 28 large poultry shows throughout this country.

Mr. Fishel was married to Miss Mary E. Atkesom. Politically, he has never failed to vote and work for the Democratic ticket, and feels that his principles are so firmly established in this regard that the rest of his life will be spent in the ranks of this party. He holds no public office and wants none, but is always anxious to assist his friends secure the offices to which they aspire.

JAMES R. FLEMING

James R. Fleming was born on a farm near Sulphur Springs, Henry county, Indiana, November 8, 1881, his parents being George R. and Sarah Fleming. He graduated from the country schools of Henry county, Elwood High School and from the law department of the University of Michigan, class of 1904. Soon after his graduation he entered the practice of law at Portland, Indiana, and was elected prosecuting attorney of Jay county in 1906 on the Democratic ticket and re-elected in 1908.

He was the Democratic representative from Jay county in the 68th General Assembly and was elected to the state senate from the district comprising the counties of Jay and Randolph, serving in that capacity in the 69th General Assembly. He was married in 1906 to Miss Jennie Adair of Portland, and they have one daughter, Marian. Mr. Fleming is a member of the Masons, Elks, Eagles and K. of P. lodges.

He is actively engaged in the practice of his profession and enjoys an extensive legal practice.

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HARVEY H. FLORA

The present postmaster of the city of Frankfort is a man of wide acquaintance and broad experi- ence with men; eminently fitted for the important position to which he has been called. Harvey H. Flora is a native Hoosier, his birth having occurred on the 8th day of October, 1866, in Carroll county. He attended the common schools and later the high school in the little town of Flora. Then fol- lowed a two years' course in DePauw University at Greencastle. He was united in marriage to Miss Emma T. Dorner. Throughout his career he has, by his genial manner and kindly sympathy, bound to himself many friends; and he has never ceased to labor for the welfare of true Democracy in his locality. On the 2d day of February, 1914, he was appointed to the position of postmaster of the city of Frankfort.

Mr. Flora has taken a deep interest in fraternal affairs and is affiliated with the Order of Red Men, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Travelers' Protective Association; and it is a source of pride with him that he has passed through all the degrees of the Masonic order.

WILLIAM MICHAEL FOGARTY

William Michael Fogarty, extensively known and liked as well over the state, was born in Lima, Ohio, November 29, 1873. He lived in Indianapolis almost continuously since 1878. His has been an experience rather out of the ordinary. His father died at an early age, and the young man made his own way. Carrying every newspaper in Indianapolis, shining shoes on the streets, bell-hop in every Indianapolis hotel of any size, messenger boy for the Western Union, Postal, the old Baltimore & Ohio telegraph, and the old District Telegraph company, he earned his way through to the presidency of the Fidelity Trust Company of Indianapolis, to which office he has been continuously elected.

He spent sixteen years in the telegraph business, the last ten years of which was as press operator for the different press associations. As a telegrapher he was known throughout the country as one of the experts. He won the first prize in a telegraph speed contest in 1891. He was en- tered in both sending and receiving speed contests, but after winning the first receiving prize, which is considered the most important, he withdrew from the sending contest as a courtesy to the other contestants. As a writer of marked ability Mr. Fogarty has contributed much verse to newspapers and magazines. When he was elected city clerk of Indianapolis he was prevailed upon by numerous friends and published a small volume of verse known as "Giggle Time and Others."

He was married in 1895 to Miss Ida Justine Smith. To this happy union have come nine chil- dren, five boys and four girls.

Mr. Fogarty was elected county chairman by the Democrats of Marion county in 1908, when the en- tire Democratic county ticket was elected. When Thomas R. Marshall was elected governor of Indiana he appointed Mr. Fogarty as one of the first members of the Indiana State Board of Accounts. The organization of the Fidelity Trust Company was at that time in Mr. Fogarty's hands and after a year's service for the State he resigned from the accountant board to devote all his time to the trust company. From a capitalization of $100,000 the company in ten years grew to resources of approxi- mately $1,500,000, attesting to the attention given the business by Mr. Fogarty and his associates.

Mr. Fogarty's nomination for the office of treasurer of Marion county in 1918 was unopposed. He served several years as treasurer of the Democratic state committee. He has worked and worked hard since he was a mere boy of eleven years. He attended St. Patrick's school in Indianapolis and graduated from the American Central Law School in 1914.

Shortly after the United States entered the war with Germany, attesting his intense American- ism, he offered his services to the Government signal corps and was at once accepted. In September, 1917, he organized a school for wireless telegraphy under the supervision of the Government and the Indianapolis public school authorities. An equipment was rigged up in one of the buildings at the Technical High School and he devoted three nights a week to this work. Later he was transferred to the Manual Training High School and from there to the Indianapolis Board of Trade building, where the classes were held nightly until all the 25 men in the class were called by the Government. This was the nightly offering to our Government of something he could do, and do well.

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Mr. Fogarty now receives about 25 letters a month from as many young men scattered over the world who were given a lift prior to entering the service. To understand what this means one must know that the wireless code of telegraphy is not that used by the commercial telegraph companies in the United States. It is the code used by the European countries both on land and sea. Mr. Fogarty had experience in the use of wireless telegraphy on the Atlantic ocean. He realized, perhaps better than many of the Government men not actually in the signal corps service how long it takes to train men for this work, even though they were actually in the telegraph business in this country, on ac- count of the use of the different code, and he began early. As a result 25 men entered the service during 1918 with months of advance practice in the work they were about to take up, all a tribute by Mr. Fogarty to his country's cause.

MICHAEL E. FOLEY

Soon after Michael E. Foley first began to talk he was talking politics. He talked Democracy. When he began to read he would read political history, and he knew the reason for the faith that was in him. He knew why he was a Democrat and why all other people ought to be, and he never enjoyed anything more than the pleasure of speaking to his audiences and telling them these reasons. So it was perfectly natural that he should become and continue to be one of the most attractive campaign speakers in his party, and he always maintained and was able to impart the enthusiasm of his youth through all the campaigns of maturer years.

A native of Indiana, born in Crawfordsville, graduated from Wabash College and from Columbia University Law School, he practiced law at Crawfordsville for ten years as the partner of A. D. Thomas, at the age of thirty-six becoming the principal trial lawyer for the Indiana traction com- panies and locating his headquarters at Indianapolis.

Aside from his activities as a campaigner he served from 1908 to 1912 as a member of the Demo- cratic state central committee. He was appointed a member of the state prison board by a Repub- lican governor in 1907, and continued to serve under other Democratic and Republican governors in the same position, one in which efficiency rather than politics controlled.

During the war with Germany the call came to him to accept the position of chairman of the In- diana State Council of Defense, a place to which no salary attached, but where much service could be done toward the winning of the war. The offer of the position came from a Republican governor and Mr. Foley at once retired from his legal practice to undertake the chairmanship, giving the work his exclusive time and attention to the conclusion of the war.

Under the direction of Chairman Foley the Indiana council maintained a position recognized and officially acknowledged by the national council at Washington as leading all the states in doing things effectively and with the promptness and earnestness that are factors in driving to victory.

WILLIAM H. FOLEY

The present messenger of the appellate court of Indiana has been for a number of years an active worker in the ranks of the party, and to the members of the local organization his name is a familiar one.

He is a native of the Hoosier state, born on the 18th of August, 1886. He at- tended the parochial schools of Indianapolis, later continuing his studies at Manual Training High School.

After completing his school work he studied telegraphy and for a number of years was operator for the Pennsylvania Railway Co. He has always been an e'1- thusiastic worker for party success and served as precinct committeeman for two years. Twice, also, he was delegate to congressional conventions, and was a member of the state convention of 1914. He is a member of the Indiana Democratic club and of the Irish- American Democratic club also.

On the first day of January, 1914, he assumed the duties of messenger of the appellate court for a term of four years.

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PETER A. FOLLMAR

Though a native of the "Fatherland" Peter A. Follmar has been for many years an honored citizen of Indiana and a trusted official in the service of the public at various times since his youth.

Mr. Follmar was born on the 6th day of August, 1851, at Blissranch Bach, Germany, but at the age of nine years accompanied his parents to Indiana, they settling in Fulton county, two miles east of Monterey. Here he continued his education, begun in Germany, in the schools of Plymouth and Monterey.

In the year 1873, on the 14th day of October, he was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Kietzer, and their home was established on a farm east of Monterey until 1880, when Mr. Follmar moved to Monterey.

In 1872 he was elected justice of the peace of Tippecanoe township and in this capacity he served for a period of eight years, winning the esteem of the community by his strict justice to all. During President Cleveland's last administration he served as postmaster for the full term of four years. He also held the position of county commissioner of Pulaski county for a term of six years, and in this capacity also his sterling qualities were demonstrated.

In the fall of 1912, also 1914, he was elected to represent the counties of Starke, Pulaski and St. Joseph in the legislature of the state, and in this position he served with conscientious zeal for the welfare of the community and his constituents and was asked to make a race for a third term, but declined.

GEORGE FORD

A resident of the city of South Bend for nearly seventy years, Mr. George Ford is well known throughout the county and vicinity. His career as attorney at law, prosecuting attorney and con- gressional representative has been of such a character as to establish an enviable reputation in the community as a man of marked ability and sterling qualities.

Mr. Ford was born on the 11th day of January, 1846, in South Bend, and here his life has been spent. He attended the common schools of the city and law school of Michigan University. In the year 1873 he was appointed by Governor Hendricks prosecuting attorney for the Laporte and St. Jo- seph circuit courts, and in this capacity served for a period of one year. In 1874 was elected prosecut- ing attorney for same circuit, and continued to hold the office for the period of ten years. In the fall of 1884 he was elected representative from the Thirteenth district of Indiana to the Congress of the United States, and in the 49th Congress he was an active participant. In 1914 he was elected judge of St. Joseph superior court, and is now serving in that office.

Politically, he has been a stanch adherent to Democratic principles and has rendered valued serv- ice to the party.

ERNEST E. FORSYTHE

Ernest E. Forsythe was born April 2, 1873, at Nineveh, Johnson county, Indi- ana, and educated in the common and high schools of that town and at Central Nor- mal College at Danville, Indiana.

As a profession he engaged in the real estate business and continued that line of work for sixteen years. He became known over the entire State of Indiana through his extensive real estate transactions. His business was always conducted on a high standard and in all his many years of experience it is said that he never had occa- sion to engage in a single lawsuit, so common to that line of business. In 1902 he moved to Odon, Daviess county, Indiana, and began the development of a large tract of marsh lands in that county and here his extensive business ran into many hundred thousand dollars. It was here he became active in politics. He removed to the county seat, Washington, in 1907, and was made Democratic city chairman in the campaign of 1908. As an or- ganizer he has few equals, and in that hard fought city election he successfully carried the entire Democratic ticket into power. He was then made county chairman and through his close organiza- tion, the entire Republican office holdings were replaced with Democrats. He was re-elected county chairman with like results. State Chairman Bernard Korbley commended Mr. Forsythe for his or- ganization work as one of the best of any county chairman in the state. His political activities were of a clean character and he won his victories by close organization. Mr. Forsythe was appointed postmaster of the city of Washington by President Wilson, July 13, 1913, with no opposition, hav- ing the solid and undivided support of the Democratic party of his county. He was re-appointed for a second term of four years more, January 1, 1918, and was the first postmaster of the new federal building of that city, costing $60,000.

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Mr. Forsythe was married to Mabel C. Fisher of Franklin, Indiana, June 1, 1900, and has two sons. Mr. Forsythe's activities are not confined to politics. He is an active worker in the church life of his city and is a member of the official board of the Christian church of his city. He has been a leading factor in the Bible school work and gives unsparingly of his time and money in sup- port of that work.

He also is interested in the educational work of the city and served as a member of the Wash- ington city school board of education and during his term of office a manual training building was erected, costing $70,000, which is the pride of his city.

As a war postmaster he has been one of the hardest workers in support of the government in all its war work, being a member of the Council of Defense committee, Red Cross, and chairman of the county on the Y. M. C. A.

He owns a beautiful residence known as Graham Place, one of the finest in the city of Wash- ington.

FRANK P. FOSTER

Mr. Foster is a native of this state, born in Orange county on the 8th day of January, 1856. He attended the public schools in early youth at Paoli, later at Mitchell, and then at Bloomington, where he finished the high school branches in 1876. In the fall of that year he enrolled as a student at Indiana State University, choosing the classical course, and graduated in 1879. Then he took up the study of law in the office of Howell D. Thompson at Anderson, Indiana, and after three years' preparation was admitted to practice at the Madison county bar, in the supreme court of Indiana and the federal district court. In his work as an attorney, he has evinced abil- ity, conscientious zeal for his clients and the success which usually comes to the faithful practitioner.

He represented Madison county in the lower house of the general as- sembly of 1877 where he was influential in helping to achieve the nomination and election of David Turpie to the United States Senate; when also he introduced the first bill submitted to an Indiana legislature to do away with the fee system for county officers. He was re-elected to the legislature of 1879, when he gave active and effective support to the reform and progressive measures of that memorable session, among which were the Australian ballot law, the Indiana school book law and the penal law aimed at corrupt prac- tices at elections.

In December, 1891, Mr. Foster happily claimed as his wife Miss Diadema E. Murphy, daughter of William V. T. Murphy of Mitchell, Indiana. Thereupon they established their home in Anderson, where two years afterward a son, Frohman, was born to them, and where the family continued to reside, in the full joy of domestic affection and the sure delight of a genuine hospitality to their legion of friends, until the death of Mrs. Foster, 1911.

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History of the Indiana democracy, 1816-1916, Part 132

Author: Stoll, John B., 1843-1926 Publication date: 1917 Publisher: Indianapolis : Indiana Democratic Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1104

Author: Stoll, John B., 1843-1926
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Indianapolis : Indiana Democratic Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1104